| Gabriel Cousens' writings on vitamin b12 including those in his book Conscious Eating.
MY PERSONAL DIET
Words alone cannot describe the level of health I have been privileged to attain eating a 100% raw plant-food diet. All that comes to mind is that I feel an immense gratitude. I feel incredibly fortunate to have even found or discovered the type of health information I have included in this book. I feel honored to be able to share this information with others.
When I went raw, I began to study the simple things, like my fingers and toes. |
Frederic Vagnini, M.D. and Barry Fox, Ph.D.
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 A "minor" deficiency of vitamin b12 can lead to loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, poor blood clotting, and fatigue.
• A "minor" deficiency of vitamin C can result in weakening of the immune system, swollen and tender joints, and bleeding gums.
• A "minor" deficiency of vitamin D can touch off muscle weakness and osteoporosis.
• A "minor" deficiency of vitamin E can weaken the immune system.
• A "minor" deficiency of calcium can provoke irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 Consider using a sublingual form. vitamin b12 deficiency mimics the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Super Prescription #7 Vitamin E
Take 2,000 IU daily of a complex with added tocotrienols. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant that protects against free radical damage. Studies show that it slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Do not take this high a dosage if you are on blood-thinning medication.
General Recommendations
Ashwagandha (Withania somniferum) is used as a brain tonic in Ayurvedic medicine. It reduces stress hormone levels. Take 100 to 3,000 mg daily. |
Dr. Jonathan Prousky, BPHE, BSc, ND, FRSH
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 High serum levels of vitamin b12 might also increase CSF levels by circumventing defects in carrier-mediated facilitated diffusion by optimizing the functioning of transcobalamin II and enabling more of vitamin B-12 to shuttle into the brain.12
These reasons support the idea that many patients with anxiety have an increased need for or dependency on vitamin B-12, which cannot be satisfied through diet alone. |
KC Craichy
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 Pasteurization diminishes vitamin content, destroys vitamin b12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, denatures fragile milk proteins, and promotes the rancidity of unsaturated fatty acids. The fats and proteins in pasteurized milk have also been altered, and the minerals are hard to absorb. Skim milk and reduced-fat (2% and 1%) milk are all high in lactose (milk sugar), low in fat, but more importantly, these reduced-fat milks have been created by mixing skim milk with oxidized powdered milk fats, which are toxic to the body. |
| My experience is that if you take high dose Vitamin Bs (particularly vitamin b12) over a number of days it can result in making you dream in such vivid color that it can actually shock you awake!
SUPPLEMENT WITH GABA
Another way to improve your sleep quality is to take a GABA sup-
Optimal Nutrition is probably the single best thing that one can do to help improve the quality of one's sleep. plement before you retire at night. GABA (gamma amino butyric acid) is a natural inhibitory neurotransmitter within the brain, and it helps to induce a state of calm throughout the brain and body. |
Frederic Vagnini, M.D. and Barry Fox, Ph.D.
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| You can also eat foods that contain the depleted nutrients:
• Thiamin: braised liver, turkey heart, roasted chicken, gefilte fish, sardines
• Folic acid: beef liver, fortified breakfast cereals, spinach, great northern beans, asparagus
• Vitamin B12: beef liver, rainbow trout, sockeye salmon, beef, haddock
• Vitamin D: salmon, mackerel, sardines, eel, fortified milk
• Calcium: milk, dried figs, Swiss cheese, yogurt, tofu
• Zinc: oysters, beef shank, chicken, pork tenderloin, plain yogurt
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your diet or supplemental regimen. |
Mary-Ann Shearer
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 These are needed for the proper functioning of the endocrine system that controls hormone production, growth, reproductive activity, production of vitamin b12 in the intestines, and for helping to make calcium and phosphorus more available. Lack of, or insufficient, fatty acids can result in any of the problems mentioned above and more problems such as gallstones, loss of hair, impaired growth and reproductive functioning, and kidney, prostate, and menstrual disturbances.
As previously mentioned, there are two essential fats we need on a daily basis. |
| Statistics show that on average 40 percent of vegetarians and meat eaters suffer from a vitamin b12 deficiency, indicating that lack of animal flesh is clearly not the cause.
There are so many reasons for B12 deficiencies but many people now believe that being too clean—in other words sterilizing everything possible—will destroy many of the friendly bacteria that make B12. So using antiseptic soaps and bleaching agents on everything can, in fact, upset the delicate balance of friendly bacteria and this can result in serious health problems. |
| Vitamin E is a natural antioxidant that helps prevent cancer and vitamin b12 is essential for healthy nerves and brain.
We are designed to deal comfortably with water that has a neutral pH level, as it neither leaches minerals from the body (as a more acidic pH will do) nor leaves behind inorganic mineral deposits (as is the case with water that is too alkaline). Mineral loss can contribute to osteoporosis and heart disease, and inorganic mineral deposits are associated with kidney stones and have been linked to stiffening joints and arthritis. |
Frederic Vagnini, M.D. and Barry Fox, Ph.D.
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| Restoring Your Nutritional Balance
To compensate for the nutrient loss caused by this drug, speak to your physician about taking 500-1,000 meg biotin, 250-1,000 mg inositol, 25-100 mg thiamin, 25—100 mg riboflavin, 50—100 mg niacin, 50—100 mg vitamin B6, 500-1,000 meg vitamin b12, 60-80 meg vitamin K, 50-200 mg zinc, 15 billion live Bifidobacterium bifidum organisms, and 15 billion live Lactobacillus acidophilus organisms per day. |
Mary-Ann Shearer
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| Pernicious anemia is another likely problem as vitamin b12 is manufactured in the human body in the small intestine by the natural bacteria or flora that are so easily destroyed by antibiotics.
According to J. I. Rodale in his book, The Complete Book of Food and Nutrition, Dr. Kaiser of the University of Illinois conducted experiments on himself, medical students, and dogs, in which the effect of onion consumption resulted in anemia. It was found that the red blood cell and hemoglobin count were starkly reduced with an increased intake of onion. |
David Wolfe
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 If the options in (2) are not available at the moment, taking a vegan-quality vitamin b12 supplement daily may be appropriate, especially when one is under stress, pregnant, nursing and/or cultivating increased neurological health.
4 If you feel your intestinal flora and food absorption are not excellent, consider regularly including supplemental enzymes and probiotics in your diet. Supplemental enzymes increase digestive efficiency. Probiotic colonies help synthesize nutrients, they counteract pathogenic microbes, and they improve the overall internal environment. |
Ann M. Coulston and Carol J. Boushey
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 B12) are greater than what can be achieved through dietary sources alone and are far higher than current recommended intakes. Presently, the AHA does not recommend use of folic acid and B vitamin supplements to reduce the risk of CVD [63, 278], but rather recommends consumption of a healthy dietary pattern consisting of vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, lean meats, poultry, fatty fish, whole grains, and cereals to meet current recommendations for all nutrients.
IX. |
Neal D. Barnard and Bryanna Clark Grogan
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 This is good advice for all patients, of course, but to get adequate vitamin b12, it is much easier to take a daily multivitamin than to try to remember which vegan foods are B12-enriched.
HYPOGLYCEMIA
Patients who are taking insulin or insulin secretogogues are subject to hypoglycemia. If they improve their diets and begin to lose weight, hypoglycemic episodes are common. In my experience, most patients on insulin and about half of all patients on a sulfonylurea or nateglinide drug who begin a low-fat, vegan diet have hypoglycemic episodes, usually within the first several weeks. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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 However, plants grown in "lifeless" soil (non-organic soil) may be deficient in vitamin b12. In the United States, most of our agriculture takes place on relatively lifeless soil, decimated from years of unnatural pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer use. So the plants grown in this soil and sold in our supermarkets lack B12. In addition, we live in such a sanitized world that we rarely come into direct contact with the soil-borne microorganisms that produce BJ2. At one point in our history, we got B12 from vegetables that hadn't been scoured of all soil. |
Bruce H. Lipton
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 In the experiment, one group of yellow, obese, agouti mothers received methyl-group-rich supplements available in health food stores: folic acid, vitamin b12, betaine and choline. Methyl-rich supplements were chosen because a number of studies have shown that the methyl chemical group is involved with epigenetic modifications. When methyl groups attach to a gene's DNA, it changes the binding characteristics of regulatory chromosomal proteins. If the proteins bind too tightly to the gene, the protein sleeve cannot be removed and the gene cannot be read. |
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
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 Methylcobalamin is the form of vitamin b12 normally used by the body. It is very well absorbed and utilized.
Antioxidants for Preventing Atherosclerosis
Alpha-lipoic acid 50 mg
This is the basic daily dose. For greater protection, you can go up to 100 mg two or three times a day. Doses higher than 50 mg a day and the more potent R-lipoic acid can induce hypoglycemia and precipitate migraine headaches in those with a migraine history.
Coenzyme Q10 100 mg
Take once a day. For maximum protection, go to 100 mg three times a day, to 600 mg a day in divided doses. |
| Anesthesia Precautions
Several recent reports have noted that nitrous oxide gas can precipitate a severe fall in vitamin b12 levels, producing disorientation and acute-onset Bi2-deficiency symptoms, including a loss of sensation in the limbs. For this reason, it is vital to take 2,000 ug of methylcobalamin supplements daily for at least a month before surgery.
Many anesthetic gases are fluorine-based. |
| For example, thiamine, pyridoxine, and riboflavin should be in 25-50 mg doses, niacinamide in 100-500 mg doses, folate in 400 ug doses, and vitamin b12, as methylcobalamin, in 1,000 ug doses. They should have 100-200 ug of selenium (as selenomethionine or selenium enhanced garlic extract) and 200 ug of chromium picolinate, as well as all the other trace elements and essential minerals. It is unusual to find a vitamin that contains all of these components in the proper doses, which may require you to take them individually. Do not purchase multiminerals that contain iron. |
Neal D. Barnard and Bryanna Clark Grogan
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| In addition, bacteria in animals' intestinal tracts produce vitamin b12, and traces of it end up in meat and other animal products. The problem with these sources is that along with it come cholesterol, fat, and animal proteins. The sources listed above provide the B,, you need without all that.
Vitamin D. Technically, vitamin D is not a vitamin at all. It's actually a hormone produced by sunlight on your skin, which is then converted to its active forms as it passes through your liver and kidneys. |
| As you have seen, it's important to get adequate vitamin b12, and a multivitamin is a great way to do that. The best ones are iron free and vegetarian.
SOME STAPLES: BASIC FOODS TO TASTE AND TRY
There are a few basic foods that would be good for you to get to know. They are not elaborate—just simple, basic staples that ought to be on your shelves. If they are new to you, they will be healthful additions to your repertoire. Let me list some here and encourage you to think about them when shopping.
Old-fashioned oatmeal. |
Tanya Harter Pierce
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 Also, if it is so toxic, then why is vitamin b12 allowed to be sold as a health supplement? Most people don't know that vitamin b12 also contains the same type of cyanide molecule that is in vitamin B17.
Moreover, according to Griffin, "aspirin tablets are twenty times more toxic than the equivalent amount of Laetrile."9 Yet aspirin is a highly touted and promoted product. Of course, when compared to the radiation and chemotherapy treatments that are routinely approved by the FDA, the subject of Laetrile being toxic moves into the realm of the absurd. |
Dr. Jonathan Prousky, BPHE, BSc, ND, FRSH
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| Tiggelen CJM, Peperkamp JPC, Tertoolen JFW. vitamin b12 levels of cerebrospinal fluid in patients with organic mental disorders. J Orthomolec Psych 1983;12:305-11.
17. Hoffer A. Vitamin B-3: Niacin and its amide. Townsend Lett Doctors Patients 1995;147:30-39-
18. Pauling L, Robinson AB, Oxley S, et al. Results of a loading test of ascorbic acid, niacinamide, and pyridoxine in schizophrenic subjects and controls. In Hawkins D, Pauling L (eds.). Orthomolecular Psychiatry. San Francisco, CA: W. H. Freeman and Company, 1973:18-34.
19. Cazzullo CL, Sacchetti E, Smeraldi E. |
Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
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 Vitamin B complex plus extra vitamin B3 (niacin) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin b12 and folic acid and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
100 mg of each major B vitamin 3 times daily, with meals (amounts of individual vitamins in a complex will vary). 50 mg daily.
100-600 mg 3 times daily, under the supervision of a health care professional. 1,000-2,000 meg daily, on an empty stomach.
400 meg daily. If you are taking anticonvulsants, do not exceed 400 mg daily from all sources. 500 mg daily.
Extremely important in the functioning of the central nervous system. |
T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. and Thomas M. Campbell II
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| SUPPLEMENTS
Daily supplements of vitamin b12, and perhaps vitamin D for people who spend most of their time indoors and/or live in the northern climates are encouraged. For vitamin D, you shouldn't exceed RDA recommendations.
That's it. That's the diet science has found to be consistent with the greatest health and the lowest incidence of heart disease, cancer, obesity and many other Western diseases.
WHAT DOES MINIMIZE MEAN? SHOULD YOU ELIMINATE MEAT COMPLETELY? |
Neal D. Barnard and Bryanna Clark Grogan
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| Many people, particularly older people, tend to run low on vitamin b12 regardless of their diets, perhaps because their bodies become less efficient at absorbing it. A daily multivitamin keeps you covered in a healthful way.
138
Second, a multivitamin provides vitamin D. Your body normally produces this vitamin when sunlight hits your skin. But if you are indoors most of the day, you may be missing the natural source, and a multivitamin can make up for that. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and has important anticancer properties.
Third, multivitamins contain folic acid. |
| If you do not take a daily multivitamin, you should take a vitamin b12 supplement that provides at least 5 micrograms. Nearly all brands contain more than this, but higher doses are not toxic.
Vitamin D. As noted above, vitamin D is produced as a result of your skin being exposed to sunlight. It helps you absorb calcium, among other functions. It is a good idea to spend 15 to 20 minutes daily outdoors. If you get this sun exposure, there is no need for dietary supplementation. If you do not and also do not take a regular multivitamin, a 400 IU vitamin D supplement is a good idea. |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
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 When MMA is elevated and cobalamin is low, that is an indication of a probable vitamin b12 deficiency.
PPI ADDICTION?
Another unspoken concern among some gas-troenterologists is PPI-induced "physical dependence."414 That1 s a nice way of saying addiction. Now, no one is getting high on PPIs. But some people may find it difficult to quit taking such medications once they start down the long and winding road of acid suppression.
Here's the sad story. |
Neal D. Barnard and Bryanna Clark Grogan
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| This will provide adequate folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin b12. Any brand is fine, but it should be free of iron since we now know that excess iron can increase the risk of heart problems.
2. A 400-microgram folic acid supplement each evening. This will boost your folic acid. If you prefer, you can take a second multivitamin that includes folic acid (see page 139). ucts, and other high-GI foods, as discussed in Chapter 4. These foods seem to raise triglycerides, while low-GI foods that are rich in fiber seem to lower them.20 You will probably see a big drop in your triglycerides. |
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