Raspberry82
Well-Known Member
Ok, you need to consider a couple of things.
It sounds like you're not absorbing your nutrients properly or not taking a vitamin B12 supplement that can be absorbed..
Many people buy B12 or B complex whatever and think they're automatically getting it into their body, they're not. For B12, you MUST MUST use sublingual (dissolved under your tongue) B12, you cannot absorb it well at all with swallowing capsules, it does not work. This is ok for other B vitamins that are good quality, but not B12. Another option is IVs or shots, but I'm sure a good subligual B12 will be sufficient for you, the others are used for people who are quite ill or have chronic problems.
Not absorbing nutrients properly. This is a very common issue with people and can be caused by a couple of simple things.
1) Your stomach is not producing enough digestive enzymes to break down vitamins/food and fully absorb them.. this is very common with our American diet, people don't supply their bodies with enough essential enzymes due to not eating enough variety of fruits and veg. You can purchase digestive enzyme capsules at most vitamin stores or online vitamin stores and take them at least 1x a day with a meal.
2) Your stomach may not be producing enough acid to break down your food and absorb it. To remedy this, purchase Betaine HCL (hydrocholric acid) capsules at your local vitamin or health food store and take 1 capsule with meals 1x a day. If you notice after taking betain HCL, that your stomach feels too acid, stop taking it because you have sufficient stomach acid being produced already. Most people generally are too high or too low in stomach acid depending on their genetics and diets high in refined carbohydrates, low in fruits/veg.
3) Another cause for not absorbing vitamins and nutrients properly ESPECIALLY vitamin B's is due to not having enough probiotics or 'friendly bacteria' in your digestive tract... they may not be low enough to cause you to have a yeast infection, but low enough to contribute to a deficiency. These friendly bacteria produce a significant amount of the B vitamins in our body, most people don't know that. It can take a while to replenish them because our digestive tract is some 30 feet long... so buy a good probiotic supplement and take 1-2 capsules on an empty stomach 1-3x a day and continue with this for a couple of months. They cannot hurt you, most people increase or decrease their daily intake entirely for financial reasons. And it wouldn't hurt to incorporate a good live culture yogurt into your diet regularly.
Let me know if you have questions about where to buy these things.. Garden of Life makes a decent probiotic supplement and most health food stores carry acidophilus is the fridge/dairy section. It's good to use one that is dairy based (acidophilus, bidfidum, etc) as well as a more broad spectrum probiotic like Garden of Life Primal Defense.
If after trying these pretty easy and inexpensive items for a few months and still have low B12, then definitely discuss this with your doctor, but I would bet your B12 will be normalized by then with these things.
If I were you, I would look for a quality Naturopath in your area and see them because most doctors (unless you have a chronic illness or they are a very broadly educated and open minded doctor) do not care about deficiencies or how to get at the root problem. A Naturopath will and will focus more on a broad-spectrum solution for the cause.
It sounds like you're not absorbing your nutrients properly or not taking a vitamin B12 supplement that can be absorbed..
Many people buy B12 or B complex whatever and think they're automatically getting it into their body, they're not. For B12, you MUST MUST use sublingual (dissolved under your tongue) B12, you cannot absorb it well at all with swallowing capsules, it does not work. This is ok for other B vitamins that are good quality, but not B12. Another option is IVs or shots, but I'm sure a good subligual B12 will be sufficient for you, the others are used for people who are quite ill or have chronic problems.
Not absorbing nutrients properly. This is a very common issue with people and can be caused by a couple of simple things.
1) Your stomach is not producing enough digestive enzymes to break down vitamins/food and fully absorb them.. this is very common with our American diet, people don't supply their bodies with enough essential enzymes due to not eating enough variety of fruits and veg. You can purchase digestive enzyme capsules at most vitamin stores or online vitamin stores and take them at least 1x a day with a meal.
2) Your stomach may not be producing enough acid to break down your food and absorb it. To remedy this, purchase Betaine HCL (hydrocholric acid) capsules at your local vitamin or health food store and take 1 capsule with meals 1x a day. If you notice after taking betain HCL, that your stomach feels too acid, stop taking it because you have sufficient stomach acid being produced already. Most people generally are too high or too low in stomach acid depending on their genetics and diets high in refined carbohydrates, low in fruits/veg.
3) Another cause for not absorbing vitamins and nutrients properly ESPECIALLY vitamin B's is due to not having enough probiotics or 'friendly bacteria' in your digestive tract... they may not be low enough to cause you to have a yeast infection, but low enough to contribute to a deficiency. These friendly bacteria produce a significant amount of the B vitamins in our body, most people don't know that. It can take a while to replenish them because our digestive tract is some 30 feet long... so buy a good probiotic supplement and take 1-2 capsules on an empty stomach 1-3x a day and continue with this for a couple of months. They cannot hurt you, most people increase or decrease their daily intake entirely for financial reasons. And it wouldn't hurt to incorporate a good live culture yogurt into your diet regularly.
Let me know if you have questions about where to buy these things.. Garden of Life makes a decent probiotic supplement and most health food stores carry acidophilus is the fridge/dairy section. It's good to use one that is dairy based (acidophilus, bidfidum, etc) as well as a more broad spectrum probiotic like Garden of Life Primal Defense.
If after trying these pretty easy and inexpensive items for a few months and still have low B12, then definitely discuss this with your doctor, but I would bet your B12 will be normalized by then with these things.
If I were you, I would look for a quality Naturopath in your area and see them because most doctors (unless you have a chronic illness or they are a very broadly educated and open minded doctor) do not care about deficiencies or how to get at the root problem. A Naturopath will and will focus more on a broad-spectrum solution for the cause.
