nice to see you mrs. Doubtfire...I hope you are well
and thank you!
what OTC b12 amount do you recommend?
bizi

We use the Jarrow brand B12 methylcobalamin found on www.iherb.com

It is very low in price. There is another who makes methyl... Source Naturals.

Cyanocobalamin is the most common found in stores. But it is a synthetic and requires the body to perform 4 steps to make it active...the methyl form.
So it is best to bypass that process because some people cannot metabolically do it properly or react to the cyanide portion negatively.

If you have no significant other neuro problems like numbness, etc. 1mg a day should be enough. Severe deficiency should use the 5mg.

Take B12 on an empty stomach...food blocks its absorption. Oral versions are passively absorbed 10% or less...so most is lost.

Here is an interesting read:
http://www.psycom.net/depression.cen...olate_B12.html

There is a folate that is better than folic acid:
folinic acid -- this is sold also by Source Naturals.

The superior methylfolate is available in a very expensive OTC product.
All the other brands were boycotted by Merck drug company.They are selling now only to RX versions of vitamins. This is to make more $$, and hurts the public. Folic acid conversion in the body to methylfolate requires many steps in methylation, and some people have genetic errors with it, and hence see little if any results from folic version.
Here is a description of folinic acid:
http://www.iherb.com/ProductDetails....&pid=7735&at=0
I really recommend it because if someone already has a "problem" neuro wise, it might very well be because they are NOT converting properly and not because they are not getting it in the diet, or from a multi.

Anyone coming to these boards with "problems" should take BOTH folinic and methylcobalamine IMO, for safety and best overall results. If you are going to do supplements do it well. And neither of these is expensive, so it is not a burden financially.

Best wishes.

Thank you mrs. Doubtfire!
Additional interesting reads at this link:


http://www.neurotransmitter.net/b12folate.html

Why aren't more pdocs prescribing this easy to take supplements?????
I have never heard of folic acid for depression until bj posted it....
WOW!

and there are newer studies that show the same thing.

This is why I am on these boards, on the internet.

Are you up for more horror? On the medications stickey here, I have a link to a site that collects negative incidents from the FDA on drugs.
You might take a look at it if you are feeling strong.
Remember only about 1% get reported, because many doctors won't participate
as a rule. (they are afraid to go on record because of liability). The link is the last post on that thread.

Of course, no one thing works for everyone equally.

So in essence the docs would give you a drug first, before fleshing out your
nutrient status. It makes one wonder.
They also don't learn about drug induced nutrient depletions. This is almost
100% ignorable, in spite of all the papers over the last 30 yrs or so.