Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Subscribe Today! Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode. YOU’RE OLDER, THINK ABOUT TAKING THESE SUPPLEMENTS – INVITEⓇ HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 620 Hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph. *Intro Music* InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: [00:00:04] Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our …
Did you take a multivitamins when you were younger? Should we continue to take them as we age? Find out more from Allie Might, INHC.
Who Would Benefit From A Powdered Multivitamin
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
*Intro music*
InViteⓇ Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!†
*Intro music*
Jerry Hickey, Ph.: [00:00:40] Many studies show that an older people who consistently use a multivitamin with minerals, this has very strong protective effects. So in research with older people who consistently use a multivitamin, they have a reduced risk of cancer, according to a number of high quality studies. They have a lower risk of a heart attack, once again, many studies. They have a reduced risk of developing coronary heart disease, the biggest killer on the planet, once again, many studies. A reduced risk of developing eye diseases like cataracts. A reduced risk of memory loss, many good studies also improve memory function. Now, this is actually being demonstrated in all age groups that a multivitamin with minerals supports brain activity. And this is true. Research shows that even in young, fit, healthy people in their twenties and thirties and forties, they get benefit for their brain, for brain energy and brain performance if take a multivitamin versus not taking one. So virtually everyone can benefit to a point, to a degree from taking a multivitamin and mineral. But especially the elderly and people with certain disease conditions and will go into this. However, some people can not absorb the nutrients from food or pills. And I’ll go into the reasons why there are many causes, including taking certain drugs, certain diseases, surgical procedures and tolerance to foods. These people likely, in my opinion, strongly my opinion is strong about this. They should switch to a high quality powdered multivitamin with minerals.† [00:02:31]
[00:02:33] So welcome to my episode. Who would benefit from a powdered multivitamin and mineral? Hi, my name is Jerry Hickey, I’m a pharmacist. I’m a nutritional pharmacist. I’m a licensed pharmacist. I’m also my background is biochemistry and of course, nutrition. Now, as far as our episodes the InViteⓇ Health Podcasts episodes you could find them all for free wherever you listen to podcast or just go to invitehealth.com/podcast and please leave us a review and subscribe. That’s very helpful for us. They can also listen to us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health and by the way, all the information on this episode is listed at the episode description.† [00:03:12]
[00:03:14] So a well-made, powdered multivitamin and mineral. I’ll just refer to that as a multi. From here on in, it’s easier to swallow. It’s absorbed faster. It’s absorbed more completely. You have a better chance of absorbing it if you have issues. So you want a nice, clean, well-made multivitamin with enough of the ingredients in there. So let’s just go to regular multivitamin use this is a very recent study. It’s a great example of why a multivitamin is so important. By the way, many US adults report taking a multivitamin. So this is the Cosmos study. The Cosmo study is a double blind, placebo controlled, randomized human clinical trial, which means it’s a state of the art top notch gold standard human study. It’s by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. They turn out a lot of high quality research. It’s by Brigham and Women’s Hospital up in Boston. They’re affiliated with Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health. They do great work. It’s 3.6 years long and includes many adults, older adults. So we call that a well powered study. It’s long enough and there’s enough people in it for it to mean something. So all the women are over 65 in the study and all the men are over 60. So the study finding, it’s published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which is the Journal of the American Society of Nutrition. These are very serious people. It’s a very well controlled journal. The trial included 21,442 men and women. So they did a subset to look at the effects of a multivitamin on brain function. So a subset of these people I put, they all had to be over 65, 2200 people. They were on a multivitamin and they had a very good response neurologically. First of all, that memory was much less likely to decline. So they were less likely to have subjective memory loss where you notice you’re starting to forget words, etc.. It’s not a serious thing and it’s a common thing as we age, but you know who wants it. But they were also much less likely to have severe memory loss. So this is a really important finding. The multivitamin made their brain sharper. It improved their memory. It improved their executive function. You know, like keeping track of things, keeping track of time, getting your work done on time, multitasking, etc.. Now, why would a multivitamin help? Well, there’s a lot of reasons. One, as you get older, it’s harder to absorb nutrients from food. Many older people are lacking key nutrients like zinc, magnesium, sometimes even calcium, vitamin D, a vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate. These are all very important nutrients. So we’re making sure these people are getting the nutrients. That’s the first thing. Secondly, the brain is a super high energy organ and it takes a lot of energy from your meal and it soaks up the vitamin C and A, B vitamins. So when you give an older person a little bit more vitamin C and B vitamins, you’re protecting their brain better and you’re giving them B vitamins for energy. But there’s a second outcome from getting B vitamins. It lowers homocysteine in the brain. Homocysteine is a natural byproduct of the brain from eating protein and getting the certain amino acids. The problem is if homocysteine gets elevated in the brain, it can lead to depression and it can also lead to Alzheimer’s disease, according to quite a few studies. So the B vitamins lower homocysteine. So that could be a second reason. You’re literally reducing robbing and damage to the brain by getting the B vitamins. So these could be the possible associations. Of course, there’s going to be other associations also.† [00:07:33]
[00:07:35] But here’s another finding, and this is the key finding of the study, because they were looking at cancer and a group of 21,442 elderly people, both men and women, the risk of lung cancer was reduced by 38%. So I mean, clearly, there should be motivation for older people to use a multivitamin. If the government was doing its job and telling older people about this, I think people would consider it extremely important. So I’m telling you about it, but I’m only a little voice. But, you know, if you’re listening, you’re getting good info here. So now we have to look at what affects vitamin and mineral absorption from food, from tablets. Many commonly used drugs, for instance, NSAIDs. Millions and millions and millions of Americans happily use NSAIDs. They can even go into a gas station and buy Advil and Aleve. And a lot of these drugs, they know, they don’t know the ramifications. We’ve done podcast episodes on this, like how these some of these drugs raise your blood pressure can cause intestinal bleeding, affect the eyes, affect your hearing, can affect the kidneys, raise your blood pressure. I mean, there are consequences to using these drugs if you use them consistently. I mean, if you only use them 1 to 3 days for a backache, you’re fine. But if you use inconsistently, there’s issues. But one of the issues is almost all of them inflame the lining of the intestines. This makes it harder to absorb nutrients. Nobody’s telling you this. You’re not hearing this on TV.† [00:09:10]
[00:09:12] Antibiotic therapy, antibiotics. Many antibiotics like ciprofloxacin and tetracycline, etc., kill a wide swath of good bacteria that affect your ability to break down foods and absorb the nutrients from foods because the nutrients are tiny. They have to break down the food to release the nutrients, but especially tetracycline, because tetracycline directly attaches to minerals. So that’s a double whammy. It’s killing good bacteria. It’s attaching to your minerals you can’t absorb them. Proton pump inhibitors. Now, proton pump inhibitors are needed drugs, but I think they’re overused. They use for GERD, you know, severe reflux, severe heartburn, consistent heartburn, ulcers, stomach and intestinal infections by Helicobacter pylori. So examples of these would be omeprazole, that’s probably the most commonly used one. Nexium, which is that little purple pill, Protonix, Prevacid, Dexilant. Why are they a problem? They’re reducing acids in the stomach, which prevents you from releasing nutrients. So they’re affecting the PH of the stomach and the upper part of small intestine. And this can really hamper the absorption of minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron. This can really affect the absorption of B vitamins like B12, and folate. So it’s an issue.† [00:10:38]
[00:10:40] Now, we’re not discussing all of the things that affect the amount of vitamins and minerals in your body and other nutrients. I’ve done that. I’ve spoken about drugs that affect the level of nutrients in your body. That’s a different thing. That’s a drug induced nutrient depletion. That’s an important thing to know if you’re on drugs, because then you have to address the nutrient supplements that they take out of your body and make up for that. So we’re just talking about here absorption of nutrients. Okay. But we’re not talking about absorption of nutrients such as fats and carbohydrates and sugar and protein. We’re talking specifically about vitamins and minerals.† [00:11:21]
[00:11:24] Now, antacids like Maalox Mylanta can block the absorption of minerals. Laxatives because you’re pooping them out before you absorb them. Bariatric weight loss surgery is a real issue for this sometimes and sometimes frequently they interfere with the absorption of a range of vitamins and minerals vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin K, calcium. iron, zinc. This is really bad for your immune system, your heart reducing your risk of cancer for increasing the risk of eye disease and brain diseases. I mean, it’s important. So people who’ve had bariatric surgery, they need to take a powdered multivitamin. Alcohol, now if you have a glass of beer with your friends on a Tuesday night, not a big deal. But if you’re having two or three drinks every day, that’s a big deal because that’s going to inflame your intestinal line and you’re not going to absorb nutrients.† [00:12:20]
[00:12:21] Now, I’m going to tell you about a condition that most people don’t know about that can affect the absorption of many things food, nutrients and cause havoc, wreak havoc with your health, make you feel terrible called SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. And we’re not talking about the friendly bacteria you get the probiotic, we’re talking about some nasty strains and species of bacteria. So people with SIBO, they have too many bacteria in their small intestines, they do terribly. What causes SIBO? Diabetes, diabetics are prone to SIBO because their immune system stinks. Unless they really carefully control their blood sugar, then they can make up for that. People with Parkinson’s disease, gastric bypass surgery, all of these can lead to SIBO. Diverticulosis in the small intestine you know those pouches that can get infected and inflamed. Irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, you know, we have the problem with gluten, severe problems with gluten, liver diseases. So if you have SIBO, you really need to go get it treated, and you probably don’t even know you have it. I’m sure your medical doctor hasn’t heard about it yet because it takes time for this information to travel through the population. [00:13:41]
[00:13:42] So what else affects the absorption of vitamins and minerals? The absorption, okay the absorption of vitamins and minerals. Lactose intolerance, you know, the sugars in dairy products, in milk. Fructose intolerance, and this is a problem because they’re adding high fructose corn syrup to many processed foods. Rapid transit time things go through your digestive tract too quickly. You don’t have a you don’t have enough time to absorb the nutrients. And lack of enzymes this is not common but it happens, lack of enzymes, but also aging. Back in Pharmacy School this brilliant professor Lynch told us that the lumen of the intestines increases with age and it gets harder to absorb certain nutrients. And this is true. You see, frequently older people are lacking nutrients, by the way. You see commonly in people in the hospital lacking nutrients too. So maybe vitamins are really important for them. Some people cannot swallow things. I’ve had clients where their esophagus, the esophagus is the tube for the back of your throat down your stomach has thickened and it was hard for them to swallow things. So I believe a well absorbed multivitamin and mineral can really help these people. It can really help these people. [00:15:03]
[00:15:04] Now, I always recommend one to diabetics. Diabetics have a terrible time absorbing things. They have terrible digestive tract issues. Diabetics lack certain nutrients, they just can’t absorb them. Diabetics lose certain nutrients in the urine. Diabetics don’t use certain nutrients efficiently. So there’s issues like vitamin B1, vitamin B1 called thiamin affects the trans catalase pathway that helps you control your blood sugar and your brain sugar, because sugar in the brain is the number one fuel for your brain. It’s not it’s not fats, it’s not protein, it’s sugar. That’s what feed your brain. So B1, they don’t use it effectively, so giving them more B1 can be helpful. Chromium, you need chromium to interact with other nutrients so that you can have antioxidants to protect your body like your brain, your kidneys and your eyes and your heart, things that get damaged by diabetes, but also to utilize insulin properly. So a little bit extra chromium is helpful. Zinc, zinc interacts with the mineral, magnesium and vitamin D to control your blood sugar. Diabetics lose zinc and magnesium in their urine, and they typically lack vitamin D. Vitamin C is also an issue with diabetics because they don’t utilize it properly. So it’s harder to protect your eyes and their brain, etc. So when you give them a good powdered multivitamin twice a day, make sure it’s not too high and in the nutrients, they’re getting a good supply of these nutrients twice a day. So there’s a better chance that it’ll helped them metabolically, etc. [00:16:48]
[00:16:50] Now there is many more obscure conditions, highly technical conditions that affect magni vitamin and mineral absorption we’re not going to go into that. So here are some examples of nutrients that are damaged by these conditions and the consequences of not having them like vitamin A. Without Vitamin A, you develop retinopathy, a damage to the eye. Without Vitamin A, you develop night blindness. Your immune system definitely suffers poor immune system function. Vitamin D, I mean, you have a high risk of cancer, it’s harder to fight cancer, certainly bone loss, a drop in strength your muscles, a drop in energy. B vitamins you develop mental issues, you develop fatigue, you can even develop Alzheimer’s. You have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s if you’re lacking B vitamins. Magnesium, I mean, without magnesium, your blood sugar goes up, it’s harder to sleep. You have less day time, energy, your blood pressure goes up, I said blood sugar already, you could develop arrhythmias of the heart. You could lose your hair, you know, alopecia, dystocia, which means, oh, that’s zinc. I’m sorry, with zinc you could develop alopecia and dystocia, you know, problems with your your your taste changes in your taste. I mean, it’s just a lot of things that go wrong. Just a lot of things to go wrong. Calcium without calcium, you have no energy. Calcium at the core, using energy properly from food, you develop weak bones, you become fatigued, you develop arrhythmias, muscle cramps, pins and needles, which we call paresthesia, heart failure. And there’s just a lot of things that go wrong. † [00:18:37]
WHY A VITAMIN B-COMPLEX IS IMPORTANT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 476 >> Listen Now!
[00:18:38] I personally use I’m an older guy, I’m 68, so I personally use a multivitamin. I use a multivitamin called Multi Energy Powder by Dr. Alan Pressman once a day in the morning, and I mix other things in with it. Now for diabetics, I tell them to use that powder twice a day should they’re getting enough of the key nutrients that they have issues with. So but I think older people, if they have trouble swallowing or they have digestive tract issues or in general, they might want to switch to multi energy powder or a good powdered multi. I dress it up with a couple of things I add Ubiquinol which is the active form of coenzyme Q10 for physical energy and heart health. I dress it up with a product by InViteⓇ Health called Antioxidant HxⓇ , which gives me a whole bundle of carotenoids and different forms of vitamin E for better protection for my heart, my prostate, women’s breast, your skin, your eyes, your brain. So I dress it up with a couple of things, it becomes perfect. And a beauty of that Ubiquinol by InViteⓇ and the beauty of that antioxidant by InViteⓇ , they use technology. So it’s even though it’s in a capsule, it’s in a vegetable capsule that’s extremely well absorbed. So older people will still absorb that well.† [00:19:52]
[00:19:54] And in any event, thank you for listening to today’s podcast episode. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to your podcasts or just go to invitehealth.com/podcast. Please subscribe and leave us a review. You can also listen to us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health. By the way, when you listen, please to our podcast, please like I said, subscribe and leave us a review. It’s very helpful for us. Thank you for listening. Jerry Hickey signing off. Have a great day.† [00:19:54]
*Exit music*
Nitric Oxide is so incredibly important that is why there is two parts. Part two will be discussing ways to enhance our nitric oxide through diet and supplements.
Picking the right supplements for your goals can be daunting, but we’re here to help! Read now to see what Allie Might, INHC, recommends to get you started.
gabapentin
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Please see below for a complete transcript of this episode.
Hosted by Jerry Hickey, Ph.
*Intro music*
InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InViteⓇ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!
*Intro music*
Jerry Hickey, Ph.:
[00:00:40] Gabapentin is an important drug. It’s commonly used for nerve pain, and it really does work. They use it for nerve pain related to diabetes. They use it for nerve pain related to shingles. We’ll talk about this a little bit later in the episode. It does have side effects. It also has important nutrient depletions. And interestingly, some of these nutrients are needed for nerve health. So welcome to my podcast episode, Gabapentin Used for Nerve Pain Can Deplete These Important Nutrients.† [00:01:15]
[00:01:17] Hi, my name is Jerry Hickey. I’m a nutritional pharmacist. I’m also the Senior Scientific Officer over here at InViteⓇ Health. Thanks for tuning in today to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen or visit invitehealth.com/podcast. Please subscribe and leave us a review. You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @invitehealth. The information on this episode is linked at the episode description, so I really want to get going here.† [00:01:43]
[00:01:45] So gabapentin was originally created for epileptic seizures. It works by reducing inflammation and over excitation in the brain. It’s a GABA analog. GABA is gamma aminobutyric acid. That’s a neuro inhibitory neurotransmitter, so it’s used for, for, for seizures. So we’re not discussing that here. We’re not going into anticonvulsant medications here. I’m strictly talking about gabapentin here for nerve pain. It’s also known as Neurontin. Now, normally it’s used for herpes zoster infection nerve pain, that’s shingles. It’s called shingles. So when you were a kid, you had chickenpox. Chickenpox never leaves your system. Later on, for whatever reason, your immune system isn’t working up to snuff and the chickenpox comes back, but this time it’s called herpes zoster, and it could cause very bad nerve pain. Especially, it depends on where it is, you know, behind the ear, near the eyes. It could be quite dangerous if it comes out in the lungs. So when it comes out like in your chest or in your face or on your shoulders or something, it causes this burning stabbing pain. Now, the pain can last for months and some people, it lasts for years.† [00:03:13]
[00:03:15] There are supplements, by the way, that help with nerve pain. Alcar with ALA. We’ve already spoken about that in previous podcast episodes. Alcar with ALA. It stands for acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid. They work really well together for nerve pain. They’re also good for energy, and they’re good for your brain and memory. That’s a winner. And another one would be benfotiamine, which is a form of Vitamin B, one that’s very good for nerve pain.† [00:03:40]
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[00:03:42] But let’s get back to gabapentin. So it’s normally used for shingles-related nerve pain. They have a time release, an extended time release, one called horizant that’s used for restless leg syndrome. Now, we don’t know how it works for that. We don’t know how it helps restless leg syndrome. Restless leg syndrome usually happens at night when you’re trying to sleep and you get this vague pain in your legs and you have this irresistible urge to move the legs to get comfortable, it could last for hours. So they do use gabapentin, that extended release, the time release one, for restless leg syndrome. For post-traumatic neuralgia, which is the shingles pain, it seems that the gabapentin changes the way your body senses pain. They also use it for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy is that tingling and that numbness that you get from nerve damage in people with diabetes. They do use it for hot flashes. You know, the sudden strong feelings of heating and sweat… Heat and sweating that you see in women being treated for breast cancer.† [00:04:53]
[00:04:56] Now, gabapentin, one of the problems with it is it makes some people really fatigued, really drowsy. It could cause serious drowsiness. So you don’t want to take it with marijuana, which is legal in some states. You don’t want to take it with alcohol, you don’t want to take it with any drug that makes you drowsy. That could be dangerous. Another problem is if you take an antacid with it, like the aluminum and magnesium antacids, it can block its absorption so you don’t want to take it at the same time as antacids. It can increase your risk of thinking of suicide. We call that suicidal ideation. I’ll get into this a little bit more later. So if you’re first trying gabapentin and you don’t know if it’s going to make you drowsy, you better be careful if you’re driving. So common side effects with gabapentin, I’ll tell you a weird one. Nystagmus. Nystagmus means dancing eyes. Your eyes are bouncing or they’re jerking, of your eyeballs so it can cause that it could cause drowsiness, of course. Dizziness. Anything that causes drowsiness because dizziness. Fatigue, obviously. Ataxia means you’re kind of wobbly and dizzy. You could fall over. Sedation. And it could cause swelling of like the arms and legs. We call that peripheral edema. Now, if you’re finding you’re take the drug for pain because you don’t want the pain from shingles, it can really hurt. It can really lost a long time. It can be horrible, but you start to get like mood changes, like you get confused or you’re becoming depressed or sad or fearful, or you start to think of suicide. Anything unusual like that you really should call your doctor right away.† [00:06:29]
[00:06:31] Now, here’s why we’re having this conversation. I’ve been doing a number of episodes, podcast episodes on drugs, how they interact with herbs and nutrients, are there nutrients that you should avoid if you’re on a drug, are there nutrients that make the drug work better, are there nutrients that the drugs are taking out of your system that can lead to health problems that you better replete your body with these nutrients. So it turns out that gabapentin does deplete the body of nutrients, and gabapentin is very commonly prescribed. There’s a lot of people with nerve pain. There’s a lot of diabetics, a lot of older people that suffer with shingles.† [00:07:06]
[00:07:08] So the drug can deplete biotin. And that’s a problem. It’s an important nutrient. Biotin was… Is involved with controlling your blood sugar. And there are studies showing that when you give biotin to people with diabetes, it can help improve their blood sugar control. But biotin’s also needed for nerve health. That’s why they’re thinking that biotin might help people with multiple sclerosis and multiple sclerosis, the coating of the nerves is damaged. It’s called the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath insulates nerves and makes messages travel quicker from your body to your brain. And in people with multiple sclerosis, the, the coating of the nerve is getting damaged. You need biotin to help correct that. So it doesn’t mean you have to stop gabapentin. But I think if you’re on gabapentin, you should be taking about a thousand to 2000 micrograms of biotin every day. Biotin’s also called Vitamin H. Now biotin is also involved with your nails. If you lack biotin, your nails get brittle. It doesn’t mean that if you have enough biotin, you could take more and get better nails. If you like it, you get brittle nails. But it’s also involved with unruly hair. There’s actually a syndrome called uncombable hair syndrome that runs in families. They can’t comb their hair. It looks like wool. Biotin helps that. If you lack biotin, your hair thins. Also, if you lack biotin, you tend to develop seborrheic dermatitis. It’s, it’s a kind of dandruff where it’s kind of like big, greasy, yellow, scaly stuff on your forehead. In fact, there’s some relationship to a lack of biotin and cradle cap in children, which is basically like seborrheic dermatitis. So if you are on this drug for neuropathy, gabapentin also called Neurontin, you need to take some biotin.† [00:09:12]
BIOTIN FOR MORE THAN YOUR HAIR AND NAILS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 394. Listen Now>>
[00:09:13] But you also probably need calcium and Vitamin D. The research is showing that when you take gabapentin, you’re depleted of calcium and Vitamin D. Now, calcium and Vitamin D obviously are needed for bone health. They’re not the only thing for bone health. We’ve done podcast episodes on that also, but they’re a major part of bone health. But calcium is also at the core of using calories for energy. Your mitochondria that use oxygen and calories for energy won’t work if you lack calcium. Your muscles don’t work well if you lack calcium. Your nerves don’t work well if you lack calcium. You become fatigued if you lack calcium. You also have a higher risk of colon cancer and in women breast cancer if you lack calcium. Calcium is a very important nutrient. So if you’re on… And Vitamin D, I mean, Vitamin D seems to be involved with everything in the human body, including the immune system, building bone. It just, it just has so many different effects. Reducing inflammation, helping to fight and helping to prevent cancer. Helping treat diabetes. You need for activated Vitamin D to help regulate your blood sugar. It interacts with the mineral magnesium and the mineral zinc to regulate your blood sugar. So if you’re on gabapentin, not only should you be taking some calcium and Vitamin D, you should be taking some biotin.† [00:10:34]
[00:10:35] There’s also evidence that gabapentin depletes two major B-vitamins, Vitamin B12 and folate. That’s really important. B12, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin in your body. That’s what it converts into. B12 is needed to help prevent your brain from shrinking and memory loss with age. And B12 is needed to create red blood cells. Without, without B12, you develop megaloblastic anemia, where your red blood cells get too big and they don’t work well and you become very fatigued. But B12 has also been shown to lower the risk of developing colon cancer, and B12 is one of nutrients involved with energy production your heart needs. But B12 is also needed for nerve health, so here’s gabapentin being used for nerve pain and it’s depleting biotin, and it’s depleting B12, both which are needed for nerve health, and they’re both needed for brain health. Now gabapentin also depletes folate, and that’s a problem. Lacking folate increases the level of a molecule in the brain called homocysteine that damages the brain that can lead to brain inflammation and depression. But it’s also a big risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Now, beyond that, folate is needed to help prevent heart disease by once again regulating homocysteine. But folate’s also needed to create good genes and healthy cells. So if you lack the active form of B12, which which is called methyltetrahydrafolate, I’m sorry, not B12, folate, we’re talking folate here. If if you like the active version of folate, methyltetrahydrafolate, you have a higher risk of cancer because methyltetrahydrafolate helps block the first two steps in the cancer process called initiation and promotion. Like, like a combination of a virus and radiation can damage your DNA inside your chromosomes so badly it can lead to the cancer process. Methyltetrahydrafolate helps prevent that, so you need methyltetrahydrafolate for a healthy heart. You need it for a healthy brain and to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and you need it to lower your risk of cancer, yet gabapentin is depleting it. Simple. Take it. Now, normally in a multivitamin you get folic acid, synthetic folate. Folate is named for foliage. It’s ubiquitous in plants, but it’s not easy to derive out of plants. So they add inexpensive folic acid to multivitamins because they can make a better profit like that. But it doesn’t work for everybody. A lot of people have trouble converting it to the active form. So look for a vitamin that has the active B12 methylcobalamin because that creates all the forms of B12 in your body and look for a folate that’s the active form of folate called methyltetrahydrafolate. You’ll be better off.† [00:13:26]
[00:13:26] So if you’re on gabapentin, it really should help with your nerve pain. Just be careful because it can make you feel sleepy, sedated, and you need to take the following nutrients separate, at a separate time from the gabapentin just to make sure they don’t collide in the intestines and cause a problem. Biotin, calcium, Vitamin D, active B12, which is methylcobalamin, and active folate, which is methyltetrahydrafolate.† [00:13:52]
[00:13:54] OK, thanks for listening to today’s episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts. We have hundreds, hundreds of them on our website. I think it must be approaching 500 by now. So that’s invitehealth.com/podcast. Subscribe and leave us a review, if you could. You can follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @invitehealth and I hope to see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. This is Jerry Hickey signing off.† [00:13:54]
