Pernicious anemia is not the same as B12 malabsorption illness.

Pernicious anemia is a lack of intrinsic factor in the gastrointestinal system and that means that if a person with pernicious anemia eats the same foods containing B12 as a person who does not have pernicous anemia, the person with pernicious anemia will not get the benefit of the B12.

Our bodies need intrinsic factor in order to get benefit from the B12 we ingest. We can eat eggs and not use the B12 in them without intrinsic factor.

Hence the brilliance of sublinguals which bypass the gastrointestinal system.

Anemia is a medical word indicating a change in the blood,
The fact is that not everyone with low B12 has anemia, but many do.

So it is as harmful to people to say anemia must be a feature of a B12 deficiency, as it is to say that it is not a feature of B12 deficiency.

If someone has enlarged blood cells, and those cells are not carrying enough oxygen, and the person is feeling abnormally tired, then the person deserves to have their blood looked at both for signs of anemia and low B12.

Pernicious anemia is not the same as "B12 malabsorption illess." As I explained above, pernicious anemia is lack of intrinsic factor.

Many more people have intrinsic factor but have lost the ability to produce sufficient stomach acid----thus a condition some call B12 malabsorption illness.

Both people will not benefit from foods containing B12, unless they eat huge quantities of liver daily or food fortified with B12 supplement. The person who lacks intrinsic factor won't even get any B12 from the fortified food.

We need sufficient stomach acid to break the B12 out of the eggs. Then we need intrinsic factor to accompany the B12 from stomach to ileum. Neither of these people will get any B12 out of the eggs.

It was learned about 40 years ago that people who lack intrinsic factor can absorb enough B12 by default for treatment, if their oral doses are over 1000 mcg per day. This was swallowed B12. The dose is the important thing.

Of course anemia is a condition of the blood. It is important that more doctors become aware that many people being damaged by B12 deficiency will not show any sign of anemia.

Of course it is harmful to say that anemia must be present when a person is deficient in B12. That is why I have been pounding away at this myth for years. People need to know, because most of their doctors don't.

rose

One thing that is sometimes overlooked, is that things like antacids can reduce stomach acid so much that B12 and magnesium can no longer be obtained from food containing them.

Thus, people who use a lot of antacids could stop using so many and begin to absorb nutrients and minerals better.

People with pernicious anemia cannot control the intrinsic factor in a similar way.

I think it is interesting that without sufficient stomach acid the incidence of h.pylori increases, as well as other bacteria (according to the homeless doctor I saw after my home was foreclosed) that damage stomach parietal cells and inhibit the production of stomach acid.

I read recently that taking a Betaine Hydrochloric Acid tablet with meals actually decreases the incidence of h.pylori. But not everone can safely take these tablets or capsules.

Vitamin B12 is SO essential. (Bad English, I know. Something is either essential, or it is not.) It's just that I want to emphasize how much it is needed. So many people that I've told about it over the years don't begin taking it even though they have several symptoms of B12 deficiency. Then suddenly their doctor puts them on B12 shots and they report to me how much better they are feeling, as if this was the first time that was possible.

We give away so much of our power when we refuse to take seriously what we know about ourselves. If something is true about us, about our health, then why don't we act on that truth rather than waiting for someone in authority to decree, as it were, that yes, it's true.

I can see that we as a society want prescription drugs carefully prescribed. I can see that we must rely on our doctors in relation to prescription drugs. But even with reliance on doctors for prescription drugs, so many people die each year from those prescription drugs.

I just wish that people who can see they have symptoms of low B12, would begin using the Methylcobalamin lozenges, or hydroxy, or even the cyanocobalamin if that is all they can get. I wish people would keep track of their symptoms, and if their symptoms decrease after they start replacing B12, then I wish they would recognize that the B12 was and probably will remain something they need.

If I sound crabby, it's because I still haven't had enough rest. And, the stress is unrelenting. Maybe I'm a little better at handling it. a little.

Often people take antacids when in actuality they don't have enough acid. And many people lose stomach acid even though they haven't taken anything.

Low stomach acid becomes very common as people age. So a person should not assume that if they stop taking antacids they can then absorb B12.

People with pernicious anemia are losing or have lost the ability to produce intrinsic factor. It's not a matter of handling it. It is going, going, gone.

Stomach acid is protective as well as important for absorption of nutrients.

rose

I don't understand what you mean about handling intrinsic factor. ? ? ?

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