Would you like to boost your energy naturally? No, it’s not a steaming cup of coffee to start the day. It’s a B12 shot, a neglected but extremely valuable therapy that increases energy, improves mood, and sharpens memory. B12 deficiencies are common. As we get older our ability to absorb this nutrient from food becomes impaired due to declining levels of stomach acid and a compound called intrinsic factor. At least 10 percent of people over the age of 65 and 20 percent of those over the age of 75 are deficient in B12. Without adequate amounts of intrinsic factor, the body absorbs less than 1 percent of B12 from food or supplements.
The classic sign of B12 deficiency is pernicious anemia. However, this serious blood disorder typically takes five or six years to develop when a person is deficient. More subtle but equally devastating damage can occur to the brain and nerves before the anemia develops, sometimes causing permanent loss of function. Early symptoms of B12 deficiency include fatigue, memory loss, confusion, depression, and nerve problems such as numbness, tingling, or burning. In the elderly, the impaired mental function that results from a vitamin B12 deficiency can mimic Alzheimer’s disease.
One reason deficiencies are so often missed is that the most common blood test for vitamin B12 does not accurately reflect levels of vitamin B12 in the tissues. More sensitive tests include serum Methylmalonic acid and homocysteine (elevated levels of these metabolic markers provide convincing evidence of a vitamin B12 deficiency). There is a new technology that can assess B12 tissue levels using a person’s own white blood cells through SpectraCell labs that is highly accurate, and we use this test at the Center. We also look at the MCV (mean corpuscular volume) on the complete blood count and if this is high, this reflects B12 and/or folate deficiency. We also look at the hair analysis cobalt levels as cobalt is a precursor to cyanocobalamin, or B12.
Besides age, other factors contribute to declines or low levels of B12. Drug-nutrient interactions compound the problem. Corticosteroids, ulcer medications (lower the stomach acid), birth control pills, dental gases such as nitrous oxide, and cholesterol-lowering bile acid sequestrants deplete B12.
B12 deficiencies are easily corrected. I recommend that all my patients, regardless of age, take a high-potency multivitamin that contains at least 1000 mcg vitamin B12. If you’re over age 65 or suffer with chronic fatigue, the dose should be higher. Another alternative is to receive vitamin B12 shots, which provide a consistently absorbed dose directly into the body. We do not use cyanocobalamin, which is the common B12 shot chemical. Instead, we use Methylcobalamine which is compounded and buffered, and does not require conversion into active form by the body. It is the “activated” form of B12.
