Fatigue and Vitamin B12

by Donna
(Texas, U.S.A.)

I have had fatigue, chronic pain, and illness since 2006. I spent 17 years in the military, but didn't have any issues until after I had had a series of 6 different vaccinations at once. Basically, I woke up one morning and could hardly move because of severe pain.

It's like my body just shut down. Since 2006 I've tried many different treatments, massage, acupuncture, tai chi, yoga, meditation, reiki, and now making a commitment to being vegan. I have lost weight and am no longer overweight and have been physically healthy since beginning veganism, but I still have the fatigue I had along with chronic joint pain (some due to injury) and muscle pain (fibromyalgia).

I refuse to take pharmaceuticals and stopped taking them because I felt worse on them. I eat raw one or two times per week, and add foods that are rich in b12 such as nutritional yeast, soy milk, etc, What else can I do to feel better? Is it true that as people age, intrinsic factor assists the body in absorbing b12?

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Veganism leads to Vitamin D and Vitamin B12 Deficiency
by: Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Queen!

Hi Donna,

Well, the fact that you started all of these issues after getting vaccinations leads me to believe that you are likely very toxic with heavy metals and/or the other toxins that are in vaccines and/or your immune system had simply been overloaded and has never quite recovered.

While that's great that you've gone to veganism, that is not necessarily the answer since you may be limiting the amount of protein that you need to heal and it is almost completely devoid of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D.

While nutritional yeast contains 'vitamin b12', the amount is ridiculously low. One Tablespoon contains about 6 to 10 micrograms, while even the smallest supplement contains 500 micrograms, the smallest dose used for vitamin b12 deficiency treatment is 1000 micrograms, and the 'average' amount that made a group of women with normal vitamin b12 levels who had fatigue feel better was about 10,000 micrograms per day.

So, if you are low in vitamin B12, you'd need to take about 100 Tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast per day in order to treat your deficiency! Yipes. Not very appetizing. So, once you are low in Vitamin b12 (not saying that you are, but IF you are), then using food to treat your deficiency (even meat) is impossible.

So, if you believe that you are vitamin B12 deficient and/or you want to simply use Vitamin B12 to see if that helps your fatigue, then please see my page on Vitamin B12 Deficiency Treatment and follow the instructions there INCLUDING making sure that you are using the Methylcobalamin type of B12 which is very helpful in the detoxification of heavy metals and some other toxicants.

Next, almost everyone is low in vitamin d, and it's impossible even for omnivores to be sufficient in vitamin d through diet unless they are living off of traditional diets found in people living in primitive fishing villages. So, I'd suggest that you get my free Fact Sheet on Vitamin D seen at the top right of this page and follow the instructions to get your vitamin d levels up to the optimal levels.

I'd start there and see how you feel. Those are the most obvious deficiencies that you might have being a vegan. However, if you have Gluten Sensitivity and your diet is high in grains, then you may be sabotaging yourself with your vegan diet, and going towards a more Paleolithic type primitive diet that doesn't include grains may be FAR more beneficial to you than your current diet.

Corn, soy, and so called 'vegetable oils' also, are HUGE triggers for health problems that most vegans incorporate into their diets when they really should be avoiding them entirely.

Take a look at the Real Food Summit, and follow the instructions on how to do that diet safely.
Kerri Knox, RN

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