by Krissi Lyn Mazon

Created on: August 16, 2010

Before discussing the benefits of B12 shots, you first need to understand why supplementation is necessary.  There are lots of things in your life that can cause such a deficiency to occur.  Stress of any kind will deplete your B12 stores and we all experience high levels of stress more than just once every so many months.  For most, stress is a daily factor of life.  The second biggest cause are certain drugs you take in order to help manage lesser conditions, such as heartburn.  Notice that your diet isn't the main or even second in the lead here.  The average American diet is high enough in protein to seemingly make B12 deficiency something not to worry about.  Yet it is.

Quickly put, antacids suppress the production of stomach acid.  If you are taking these for heartburn, there's a great chance your acid levels are actually too low rather than too high.  Doctors talk you into the medication because, after all, it stands to reason that if your stomach acid is backing up into your throat, then you are making too much.  However, for most people given antacids, this isn't even the4 case; it's a one size fits all band aid.  A lot of people with actual esophageal damage also do not have a high level of acid. 

While suppressing your acid production, your stomach becomes less able to properly break down foods, in particular, animal protein.  The American diet, being loaded with these fatty proteins, perpetuates this vicious cycle of indigestion and multiple vitamin deficiency.  It does not take a major compromise of the digestive system to cause B12 levels deep in your tissues to plummet.  Often, you will still have a reasonable, (read "barely sufficient for optimal health"), B12 blood levels, but go on being sick and tired without any meaningful diagnosis.

Most people do not experience a major complication from the deficiency such as pernicious anemia.  That being said, it does not mean a deficiency is" small potatoes".  Even a blood level under 500 can silently take life as you know it away.  The exhaustion you can feel after sleeping for nine hours straight, not being able to get to sleep and tossing for hours on end, the unexplained muscle and joint pain, the mood swings- your life can very well fall apart!  Pretty soon, we will hear how B12 levels are linked to conditions such as Fibromyalgia.  It has already been said that low Vitamin D is linked to the condition. 

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