Vitamin B12 Deficiency is a Major Health Concern: Here’s Why!

By Dr. Michelle Kmiec

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Because a large portion of people suffer from gastrointestinal disturbances such as constipation, diarrhea, and heartburn, it is more than likely that a Vitamin B12 deficiency (or a subclinical deficiency) is far more prevalent than what was previously thought.

Vitamin B12 requires sufficient gastric acid for absorption. Even if an individual has sufficient intrinsic factors necessary for B12 absorption, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs as well as prescription drugs for heartburn (which suppress the acid) indirectly suppress Vitamin B12 absorption.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Commonly prescribed drugs also cause nutritionally deficiencies, including Vitamin B12, which has been linked to many health conditions.

Here’s just a small list of such drugs:

• Oral contraceptives (birth control pills)
• Anticonvulsants
• Anti-hypertensive (blood pressure lowering)
• Anti-inflammatory (ibuprofen, aspirin)
• Anti-ulcer and Heartburn drugs (i.e. H2 blockers such as Prilosec, Nexium)
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs (i.e. Lipitor)
• Beta-blockers
• Phenothiazines (i.e. Thorazine)
• Tricyclic antidepressants (i.e. Sinequan, Norpramin)
• Benzodiazepines (i.e. Xanax)
• Antibiotics
• ERT (Estrogen Replacement Therapy)
• Anti-diabetic drugs

If you notice, oral contraceptives (birth control pills) top the list above. Interestingly, it is commonly accepted knowledge that oral contraceptives are linked with an increased risk of blood clots and stroke, especially in women “over the age of thirty-five”.

Most women start taking birth control pills in their late teens or early twenties without also being advised to take Vitamin B12 and other important nutrients such as Vitamin B6 to lower homocysteine levels (an amino acid derivative from the amino acid cysteine), and Vitamin B9 (folic acid) – except in low does for the prevention of birth defects.

High homocysteine levels are now considered a major factor in cardiovascular disease, including blood clots and stroke! 

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Previous articles by Dr. Michelle:

• Natural Cure for Chronic Pain Syndromes Silenced by the Medical Establishment
• Beta-Carotene vs. Retinol: Are You Getting Enough Vitamin A?
• Have We Lost All Common Sense
• Can Cantaloupes Help Prevent Cancer?
• The Sun & Skin Cancer: Examining the Truths, Pseudo-Truths & Lies of Mainstream Science
• “Blame It On Your Genes”: the Money-Making Myth of Modern Medicine
• Illness vs. Industry: Will Scientists Ever Find a “Cure” for Cancer?
• Antipsychotics for ADHD? There is Something Wrong with Our Medical Establishment
• Exposed: Monsanto’s Mission To Pharmaceutically “Enhance” GMO Foods