What is the best type of injectible b12 for the elderly (details)?!


Question: What is the best type of injectible b12 for the elderly (details)!?
There are at least a couple of different types of injectible b12, and one of them is more easily used (!?) by the body!. Which one!?Www@Answer-Health@Com


Answers:
Different forms of vitamin B12

Cyanocobalamin is the usual form of B12 sold in this country!. Hydroxocobalamin and adenosylcobalamin are two other forms!. For the past 20 years English doctor Anthony G!. Freeman has been attempting to get the cyano form of B12 removed from the market and replaced with the hydroxocobalamin!. He points out that the cyano form is not effective for certain eye degenerations caused by smoking and alcohol

But another form, methylcobalamin, may be the best of all!. Research shows that this active form of B12 has the unique ability to provoke the regeneration of nerves without adverse side effects!. This is because B12 facilitates methylation, the process that creates and maintains nerves and brain chemicals!. Research shows that a lack of methylcobalamin causes degeneration of the brain and spinal cord - a condition known as subacute combined degeneration!. In this disease, nerves lose their insulation and begin to deteriorate!. This process, known as demyelination, occurs in other neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis and chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Vit B 12 an be injected IM!.



B12
The Vital Vitamin

Oral B12 equivalent to
B12 injections

For decades, people have been injecting themselves with vitamin B12 because they thought oral supplements were not adequately absorbed!. New research indicates that oral B12 supplements may be as good or better than injections!.

Those who have low levels of vitamin B12 in the blood have long resorted to injections of this essential B vitamin, an uncomfortable delivery method at best!. New evidence suggests that oral B12 works as well as injections, according to a study published in the journal Blood -but high doses must be taken!. This verifies reports from Sweden dating from the 1970s that pernicious anemia, a disease of B12 deficiency, can be controlled with oral B12!. Resolving the debate over oral-versus-injections is very timely, given that vitamin B12 is a homocysteine-lowering factor!. Homocysteine has emerged as a strong and independent risk factor for heart disease and stroke, and is also connected to chronic diseases such as arthritis, Alzheimer's and diabetes!.

According to the recent data, 2,000 micrograms/day of oral B12 cures the symptoms of B12 deficiency, including elevated homocysteine, neurological problems, and elevated methylmalonic acid (a marker of B12 deficiency)!. The oral version works as well as injections, with the added feature of maintaining high levels in the blood over time!. The study showed that after a month, the blood levels of the vitamin in people receiving injections dropped and stayed at a plateau, whereas blood levels of those receiving oral B12 continued to rise!.


B12 lowers homocysteine

Although oral B12 did not reduce homocysteine in every case, when it did, the results were dramatic!. Some of the people in the study had homocysteine levels as high as 175 micromoles per liter (the optimal safe range for homocysteine is under 6)!. In the case of one patient, 2,000 micrograms of oral B12 for four months reduced their homocysteine from 113!.4 micromoles per liter to 8!.2!. Injected B12 also significantly reduced homocysteine - the main difference being that the injected version worked faster!.

Interestingly, some of the patients did not respond to supplemental vitamin B12!. It was discovered that they were also deficient in folate, and until folate was replaced, their homocysteine remained elevated!. Vitamin B12 and folate work synergistically in the chemical reactions that recycle homocysteine back to methionine in the methylation cycle!. It is also interesting to note that participants in the study with both B12 and folate deficiencies were depressed, had anorexia, and addiction to alcohol!. It is well-established that folate or B12 deficiency causes psychiatric problems ranging from loss of memory to insanity!. This is probably due to the vitamin's role in methylation - a biochemical process crucial for the maintenance of brain chemistry and nerves!. B12 plays a role in the synthesis of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine!.

Intrinsic factor is secreted by the stomach to help the body absorb B12!. Older people produce less intrinsic factor, and are thus more vulnerable to B12 deficiency!. In the study mentioned at the beginning of this article, high-dose oral B12 was absorbed as well as injectable!. No supplemental intrinsic factor was given!. Intrinsic factor is usually associated with a chronic B12 deficiency known as pernicious anemia!. Patients with pernicious anemia lack intrinsic factor usually because of insufficient stomach acid!. Others may have antibodies to the factor - an inappropriate autoimmune response to one's own proteins!. Injected B12 has traditionally been used for pernicious anemia because it bypasses the absorption problem!. However, doctors are beginning to realize that pernicious anemia patients are not the only patients they see with B12 deficiencies!. Anyone with elevated homocysteine, psychiatric disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, or who is elderly is potentially B12-deficient!. These conditions are more likely caused by diet-induced B12-deficiency than a lack of intrinsic factor!. All should respond to oral B12Www@Answer-Health@Com

There is only 1 type of vitamin B12, or cyclobalamine!. There are different manufactures, but only 1 type of B12Www@Answer-Health@Com





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