Transcription
Today we're going to discuss the six pauses. The B12 deficiency that you've never heard before. And this is really important because if someone's deficient in B12, they can develop permanent damage into the nervous system, into the brain. They can have anemia. They can have a raised level of homocysteine, which is really bad for the heart. And they can actually be depressed and have all these medications and treatments for years, yet nothing even touches it because no one addressed the B12 connection.
Various problems can happen with your eyes on many different levels because you have the retina, which is all nerve tissue, and B12 is needed for anything neurological. A person can develop anemia because of the importance of B12 in your red blood cells, and even problems within the DNA. B12 is very, very important, and a huge percentage of the population in the world is deficient in B12, and many times they have a subclinical B12 deficiency and they don't even know it. It's important to know all the causes that go beyond just lacking B12 in the diet because you don't consume animal products.
All right, so let's just jump right in. The first one is an H pylori infection. Okay, I've read reports and I had a hard time believing this, but 50% of the population has an H pylori infection. I don't know if I would agree with that, but I will say that it's a very, very high percentage. But roughly 80% of the population has H pylori in their body, whether it's coming out of remission or not is really depending on the environment of your body. But H pylori normally in our bodies doesn't create a problem. Okay, it lives with our body, it cooperates, it's a good relationship. But when things change environmentally, it can become very, very nasty, and it's the underlying cause behind ulcers and gastritis and atrophy of the stomach. It can produce GERD symptoms and so on and so on.
Unfortunately, the treatments for it involve multiple antibiotics and acids like PPIs, and unfortunately, there's a lot of non-compliance when people do this, simply because they can't tolerate this treatment. And then you start developing resistance against these antibiotics, and now you're stuck between a rock and a hard place because what are they going to do? And so their whole goal is to eradicate this H pylori and just kill off this germ, not taking into consideration the rest of the body. Now, if we really want to get rid of H pylori, we really want to put it back in remission where it belongs, and that has everything to do with the environment that this microbe lives in. And there's a couple things you need to know about H pylori. It is a neutrophile. Now, what is that? That is a microbe that prefers a pH that is more neutral, okay, like between 5.5 to 7.5, 7 being neutral. Here, this microbe is existing in an environment that is extremely acidic. I mean, the normal pH of the stomach should be between one and three, right? And so if you go all the way up to neutral, wow, you're going to have so many problems in your stomach because you now can't defend against pathogens that come through the digestive tract. Uh, you're not going to be able to digest protein. You're going to have a lot of issues with absorption of minerals. But this microbe prefers that pH.
As we age, the pH of your stomach becomes less and less acidic and more and more neutral. This is where we have a problem. However, this H pylori microbe also has enzymes that increase ammonia, which is extremely alkaline, and it's a survival mechanism. So if this microbe gains traction, it itself is going to create an alkaline stomach and give you a lot of problems with digestion. And what is that going to do? That is going to greatly inhibit B12. Why? Because you need that acid to break down the food to extract B12. B12 is in animal products, right? If you can't digest the protein to extract the B12, you're going to be deficient. And not only that, H pylori will also deplete your iron reserves, your vitamin A, your vitamin C, and your folic acid.
So what would be a better approach or a better strategy for this H pylori? Well, number one, start acidifying your stomach if you can. But many people can't because they have an ulcer or they have gastritis. So if you add more acid to the stomach, you're going to make it worse. So what can you do? Well, guess what? Broccoli sprouts, or even better yet, broccoli microgreens have sulforaphane, which is a compound of phytonutrient that can kill H pylori. Okay, there's many other phytonutrients that can kill it, but sulforaphane is a great solution. Another thing to take would be garlic. That garlic can kill off H pylori or at least put it back in remission. Probiotics have been found to inhibit H pylori. So here we have doctors recommending antibiotics, but why not just use probiotics to really get that thing back in check? And just as a side note, if you're on antibiotics right now, you better be taking probiotics at the exact same time because that way it will protect you against some of the side effects. Now, a couple other things that can help H pylori. Clover and Manuka Honey, either or, has been known to reduce the infection of H pylori.
So, number one, H pylori. Number two, Metformin. One of the side effects of Metformin is a deficiency of B12, as well as B1. So if you're on Metformin, you better be taking B12 and B1. If someone's a diabetic, a lot of times they'll develop what's called peripheral neuropathy on the bottom of their feet. They'll have like numbness, tingling, things like that. And the remedy is taking some of these B vitamins, like B1 in the form of benfotiamine, to help reverse it. But if you don't know that and you're taking Metformin, that's creating a worsening of this B1/B12 deficiency. This could be the reason why your peripheral neuropathy and other neuropathy problems are not going away. The medication is supposed to help you is actually worsening the situation.
Number three is SNPs. Now, what is SNPs? Genetic variations. Is that give you a propensity or a susceptibility of having certain problems if your environment isn't just right? Well, there are three genes that I know of that I'm not going to get into that detail of that, but you should just know there are genes that are involved with the conversion or activation of B12, as well as the absorption of B12. And it's not uncommon to have a variation of a gene that doesn't allow you to absorb B12. And this is simply because the genetics that you were born with don't allow for the maximum absorption of B12. And so when I've been recently looking at DNA testing with certain people, that's kind of showing up quite often, problem with B12, and they had no idea. And so the solution for that is to take a natural form of B12. Don't overtake the synthetic version. The natural one is called methylcobalamin, and the synthetic version is called cyanocobalamin. Another solution is to start consuming foods high in B12, the natural version, which would be red meat and beef liver.
All right, the fourth reason why people are deficient in B12 is that they are taking synthetic folic acid. Okay, so folic acid is in our foods as a fortification, as an enhancement, as an enrichment. They use folic acid in pretty much all the cereals that you hopefully are not eating. They also put it in the breads, the pasta, the crackers, the biscuits, grain products, right? Anything that's refined. It's in nutritional yeast, it's in a lot of the supplements, it's in a lot of the energy bars that people have. And unfortunately, it can build up in the body to a point where it's toxic, especially if someone has a genetic problem with folic acid, which is very common. And what happens with this consumption of this folic acid, okay, or this accumulation of folic acid, is you start to hide a deficiency of B12, and that can create big problems with B12. Methylfolate is a good folic acid that doesn't have to convert, okay? So it doesn't need that enzyme that many people have a problem with. So that's something you can do.
The next cause of a B12 deficiency is laughing gas. Right, you go to the dentist and they give you laughing gas, which I've had in the past, and that can create a B12 deficiency. And the last reason is PPIs. These are antacids. In fact, it's one of the treatments for H pylori, which can then create a B12 deficiency indirectly. So antacids increase your risk of this H pylori. And so I just wanted to create this video to increase your awareness on the six additional reasons why someone could be B12 deficient, and now you know about them, you can do something about them.
Now, since B12 is related to folic acid, if you haven't seen this video, you should check it out. I put it up right here.