I don't think there is an upper limit established for B12. Does anyone know?

You are correct... no upper limit established.
There are studies on PubMed from Japan that used 40 MILLIGRAMS per dose in fact for an MS study. I don't recommend that, of course.

However, cyano version of B12 is not metabolized well in some people...some cannot handle the cyanide portion, of this synthetic version.

That is why using methylcobalamin (or hydroxycobalamin) is safer--hydroxy costs more however-- is the best way to go.

The methyl version is the exact same as the active version in the body.

The only reported side effects for high dose B12 (and 1000mcg oral is not high dose since it is not all absorbed)... is acne. And that is with the cyano type.

There is a new oral coming out ...here is the link to it:

http://www.emisphere.com/oral_vitamin_b12.html

Don't know what type it is yet, however. Expect it to cost more than the methyl that many of us use already.

I would think that a B-12 blood test will best predict how you assimilate B-12. I take 380 mcg B-12 daily. My recent B-12 level was 1060. My nutrition physician said that it is an optimum level. The standards say much less than 900.

I take 1400 IUs of D3 but my blood level was low. He wants me to add another 3000 IUs to my daily regimen.

He wants me to read "The Edge" by Eric Braverman, MD.

Has anybody read "The Edge" ?

I am reading The Edge Effect now. I am not terribly impressed with it... but it has some interesting comments. I guess my biggest problem, is that Dr. Braverman attributes so many diseases and conditions in long list format to each neurotransmitter...without proof or validation. Often hypertension is listed with hypotension. ?? Duh???He claims to use Growth hormone on just about everyone...and this bothers me too.

It seems a bit grandiose for me. So read it carefully. I find it overwhelming, and complex. And I have read many many books of this type, and this one is giving me "trouble".
For example, he recommends using Aspartame for every patient.
This is problematic for me right there. If you go to Amazon and read the comments, you'll see what others think too.
He is also a big fan of bioidentical hormone treatment.

I found this book much more useful:
http://books.google.com/books?id=SPG...age&q=&f=false

I agree. Recommending "Aspartame" is a big concern for me too. Does he think we have agricultural pests in our bodies. Aspartame was originally developed as a pesticide. Its sweetness was discovered by mistake. One researcher said to the other, "Did you test it?" It was heard as "Did you taste it?"

Maybe Braverman needs to update to recommending the Stevia/sugar mix as a low calorie subsitute. I am not sure I like the Truvia version of stevia.

Besides, our bodies and brains need a proper carb intake, just not junk food sugar.

I will never understand why people will eat/drink something to satisfy their sweet tooth that does not satisfy their sweet tooth. It is much easier to truly satisfy a sweet tooth with a small sweet that to eat/drink gobs with an artificial sweetener that leaves one unsatisfied.

I think I will just look The Edge over at the library. It sounds like I will struggle to read it anyway. My brain does not tolerate writings that are difficult to understand.

I am also turned off by Braverman's appearance as an author of too many specialized subjects. Just like Dr Oz. He may be a great cardiac surgeon, but he is a master of nothing else. Oz and Braverman seem to be after $$$ more than patient health.

I am in agreement with him about bio-identical hormone treatment. Our diets have messed up our hormone balances. I will be starting testosterone and DHEA when it arrives. I am low in both.

BHRT has improved my wife's life drastically. Others we know have also benefited. Big Pharma's shotgun HRT is to be questioned. Same as birth control pills.

I read a recent study that links birth control pills to a change in how women view men. BCP's over-rides the need and desire of women to find a masculine man leading to women who are prone to choose and prefer feminized men. It is a very preliminary study. It will be interesting to see more research in this area.

I will look into B5P. It sounds interesting. I currently take 300 mg of B-6 daily. If I miss my B-6 for a few days, my wife can tell, same as B-12.

The comments Braverman makes in the book are strange.

I am skipping to the end...since each chapter rather repeats itself. He made a statement:
"acetylcholine keeps your muscles from drying out"...pg 171
Now what does THAT mean?
Also there is NO bibliography! The book makes sweeping generalizations with no backup studies. Some seem to make sense sometimes, but most are just that, sweeping statements.

I am going to research him some.
I find Dr. Amen MD much more grounded.

You will find this interesting:
http://www.aapsonline.org/newsletters/aug97.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/23/ny...einstated.html

The lack of a bibliography in The Edge Effect is now more understandable to me.
I guess there are no studies to bolster his claims.

The recommendation to use Aspartame for him, appears on ALL his neurotransmitter subchapters. He explains at first in the dopamine chapter that the phenylalanine in aspartame is what he is after. But you know....phenylalanine is common in all proteins. We get plenty by eating protein.

What IS in aspartame that is problematic....is ASPARTIC acid which is a known stimulant of the NMDA receptors for PAIN.
It is related to glutamate which is also a stimulant to these pain receptors and problematic in the brain. Why does Dr. Braverman recommend aspartame to all patients? This is a question I have...and basically I think the book was not proofread properly, and it is repeated by accident.

I DO NOT like his sweeping generalizations ...he seems to have "borrowed" snipets of other peoples' research and used them out of context or whatever, for his own purposes. It is sort of like Martha Stewart's approach (some people believe she has stolen recipes and craft ideas for YEARS and received much criticism for that, although after her prison experience it seems less to me).

I'll find some other "precious" quotes from the book before I take it back to the library. I think those will illustrate my opinion, fairly well.

He sounds like a formulaic author. They are common in self help books. The author finds an issue people are interested in, does a "little" research, then uses a template to write chapter after chapter of marginally informative text.

They are usually just interested in selling books for a publisher and their own wallet.

Consuming aspartame for the phenylalanine is like drinking soda for the phosphorus.

The aspartic acid is a big concern with aspartame. I understand that when aspartame is heated, it breaks down into methanol, then formaldehyde. Just what we need, pickled and preserved brains.

I think I will use my time more wisely.

I just read a short bit near the end of the book about acetylcholine.

He calls this a moisturizer! Keeps the cells lubricated and keeps the bones from drying out!

(I think he means choline).

It is the weirdest thing I have EVER read... and he is supposed to be a "doctor"... well, he did lose his license and have to fight to get it back.

I found a critique about his clinic... he charges alot of money for tests and some electropicture of the brain (over $1000)

He sells some electrical machine called the CES
http://www.orthomolecular.org/librar...n01-p049.shtml

I can't find much to support his machine, either.

Braverman's electro-picture of the brain is just a QEEG with more leads than commonly used. I guess he tries to relabel it to differentiate it from QEEG and brain mapping.

His license suspension sounds like a witch hunt for being a pro-active alternative medicine proponent. The only charge that held up was shoddy record keeping and one instance of practicing medicine while his license was temporarily suspended.

The shoddy record keeping referenced procedures or treatments he prescribed or performed without adequate records to show cause.

Either way, he appears to push the edges of the envelope. He does promote the CES device, an FDA approved TENS for the brain.

I am usually one to do the research on people such as Braverman. I was remiss on this one.

I will consider his ideas carefully. Some may be supported by others' research and published reports. I will look for such evidence before accepting his ideas any further.

Thanks for your work.