Vitamin B12 Deficiency: A Growing Epidemic

According to a report in the Harvard Health Newsletter, B12 deficiency is the most common nutrient deficiency in the developing world and the U.S.[3] This is terrible news since B12 is one of your body's building blocks to produce DNA. It also keeps your immune system functioning optimally, regulates mood and sleep cycles,[4] and is crucial to energy production, which is why it's known as the "energy vitamin." [5]

Signs and symptoms of a B12 deficiency include the following:

• Low energy and weakness
• Confusion or "fuzziness."
• Persistent sleep problems
• Digestive problems
• Hearing and vision loss
• Memory problems
• Irritability and mood swings
• Dizziness or lightheadedness
• Weak immune function
• Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet

I recommend vitamin B12 supplementation to my patients, and I will recommend it to you as well. Put, taking a high-quality B12 supplement can increase your energy and improve your overall state of well-being — and help preserve your brain function as you age.

Vitamin B12 Keeps Your Brain from Shrinking

The cognitive decline associated with aging has been linked to a body process involving decreased brain mass. That's right; your brain shrinks as you get older! This reduction in brain mass is directly correlated with Alzheimer's risk and the associated loss of memory and cognitive function seen in older individuals.[6]

A landmark study conducted in 2010 showed that supplementation with B12 combined with B6 and folic acid slowed the accelerated rate of brain shrinkage and declining cognitive scores in older individuals with mild cognitive impairment.[7] While B6 and folic acid are readily available in the diet and easily absorbed, B12 is not, and severe B12 deficiency is thought to affect nearly 1 in 2 older adults,[8,9] making proper supplementation critical.

A more recent 2011 study published in the journal Neurology confirmed the importance of B12 in brain health among older individuals.[10] It again showed that older individuals with higher levels of B12 in their blood had less shrinkage of the brain than counterparts with lower levels. Those with higher B12 blood levels and increased brain size scored higher on memory and cognitive tests.

B12 protects your brain and nervous system by optimally keeping nerves healthy and communicating.[11,12] One of its most potent protective properties for the brain is its ability to reduce blood levels of a dangerous metabolite called homocysteine. Homocysteine is a protein naturally formed in the body due to metabolism that is commonly correlated with many adverse health effects. Reductions in circulating homocysteine levels due to increased blood levels of B12 have been found to reduce the risk of developing severe cognitive decline. Being deficient in B12 puts your brain at serious risk by contributing to age-related brain shrinkage and elevated homocysteine levels.[13]

Why You Should Start Taking a B12 Supplement Now

Many factors are contributing to the massive widespread rise in B12 deficiency, and the most important is related to the fact that the body's ability to absorb B12 decreases as we age. It has been clearly established that most people are deficient in B12 not because of a lack of consumption but because they cannot properly absorb it into the bloodstream.

Unlike almost all other vitamins, B12 must be separated from food by stomach acid to be absorbed. Also, the body has to release a unique binding protein called intrinsic factor to facilitate the passage of B12 into the bloodstream. As we age, the cells in our stomach that make the stomach acid needed to cleave B12 from food and the intrinsic factor needed to absorb it significantly reduce inactivity and potency. This leaves us with a severely compromised mechanism to extract and absorb B12 from our food. Therefore, a sublingual (under-the-tongue) B12 supplement like Tree for Life bypasses the digestive process becomes necessary to raise B12 blood levels.

Another major factor that contributes to B12 deficiency is prescription medication. Acid-blocking medications and the diabetes drug metformin [14] both deplete the body of B12. By the way, B12 supplements are incredibly safe, and B12 has no know drug interactions and has never shown any adverse or toxic effects in humans, even when given in large doses.

Take the Right B12 or Don't Bother!

There are two main factors to consider when choosing a B12 supplement:

1. Sublingual Delivery: All oral B12 supplements should be delivered to the body by dissolving them under the tongue. The vast network of blood vessels under the tongue allows B12 to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream and thus bypassing the issues related to stomach acid and intrinsic factors.

2. Activated Form: Most B12 supplements on store shelves and the Internet are made with an inexpensive form of B12 called cyanocobalamin. The problem with this form of B12 is that your body cannot even utilize it! To have a beneficial effect on your cells' health, it must first be converted into its active counterpart called methylcobalamin.

For these reasons, I ALWAYS suggest that anyone interested in supplementing B12 use a supplement containing 100% methylcobalamin delivered in a sublingual form.

The tree for Life's Vitamin B12 fits the bill and all the above recommendations and requirements.