Vitamin B12 Malabsorption

Low vitamin B12 can be the result of a vitamin B12 malabsorption. Because of its complex molecular structure, normal absorption from food can be difficult to totally impossible.

Four reasons for vitamin B12 malabsorption

1. Your stomach must produce enough hydrochloric acid, also called salt acid, which appears not to be in at least 50 percent of all adults of age 50 and older.

2. Vitamin B12 must attach to Intrinsic Factor (IF) built by parietal cells of the stomach. Otherwise, the small intestine won't absorb it.

A sick gastric mucosa produces usually too little to no IF.

3. Helicobacter pylori (H pylori), a bacteria inhabiting the stomach can also affect the IF production.

4. The small intestine's mucous membrane must be healthy and free of residues, to absorb the vitamin.

Drugs like antacids and antibiotics, but also fungi have a negative effect on it. Drugs in general can cause a lack of vitamin B12.

Although B12 could be supplemented orally, it is more recommendable in the beginning to inject it because of the potential vitamin B12 malabsorption problem of the small intestine.

Exception:

If certain vitamin B12 tablets are applied sublingual, the oral mucosa will absorb it instead of the small intestine. In this case, you have to increase the daily dosage.

What about vegetarians?

As you already know from the previous site, produce has a lot of microorganisms on the surface, which supply B12. This however works only as long as produce is eaten in its natural condition, unwashed and raw.

Raw food is great and organic fruit can be safely eaten unwashed.

However, who wants to eat salad and vegetables with dirt from the garden or fields? That's little appetizing, isn't it?

Nevertheless, because of the absorption problem of vitamin B12 and even if you eat meat and other animal products vitamin B12 should be examined; in case of multiple sclerosis anyway.

Is it enough having B12 in the blood?

Having a vitamin in the blood is no guarantee at all for getting an effect.

This applies especially to B12.

You can have a high level of B12 and still suffer from symptoms related to a lack of vitamin B12 because the cells cannot absorb and metabolize it.

Whether B12 is metabolized and to what degree is answered by the level of MMA, Methylmalonic acid.

MMA accumulates in both, the blood and the urine if cells do not metabolize B12. The higher the MMA level the worse the absorption of this vitamin.

The MMA test gives reliable answer to whether vitamin B12 is absorbed into your cell system.

Because of the importance of vitamins, I recommend all my clients to take care of a good vitamin supply and to take into account that vitamins are an important part of diet but...

With the background of vitamin B12 malabsorption, you can proceed to...

==> Vitamin B12 supplementation

More Information

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Vitamin B12 Test

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