338-SYNCPodcast_B12

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Jenny Swisher: Welcome friends to this [00:01:00] episode of The Sink Your Life Podcast. Today we’re diving into a very important vitamin that we actually haven’t talked about much here on the podcast just yet, but it’s very vital for our hormone health, and that is vitamin B12. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna throw any confusing science at you.

We’re gonna actually break this down in plain English as we usually do, but if you’ve ever felt tired, foggy, or just off, I encourage you to keep listening to this one. I am learning that B12 is playing a vital role for me as I enter perimenopause. I recently did some lab testing, which showed extremely high levels of B12.

So at first when I saw my labs, I thought, oh no, I must be like toxic in B12. I must be over supplementing. It wasn’t until I started diving deeper and I got further testing on both my folate and my methylmalonic acid that I started to see that actually this indicated a functional deficiency. Now, what is a functional deficiency in something like B12?

Well, it basically means that even if you are supplementing your body, specifically, your cells are not uptaking that vitamin. So I was taking upwards of 500 milligrams a [00:02:00] day of vitamin B12, and my body just simply wasn’t able to absorb or use it. So it wasn’t until I started figuring this out for myself that I started learning so much more in the world of B vitamins, specifically vitamin B12.

So let’s start with the basics. Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that if your body doesn’t need it, it will simply pee it out. It also plays a key role in your nervous system, your energy production, and yes, even in your hormone balance. So here’s the connection for you. In order for your body to make and regulate hormones, it needs healthy adrenal glands, a well-functioning thyroid, and a steady supply of energy.

Vitamin B12 supports all three of those. So let’s take a quick example. If your B12 is low, like mine, your body struggles to make enough red blood cells. This means less oxygen gets to your brain and organs, and then what happens? Fatigue, brain fog, all the things that can throw your hormones outta whack.

Your nervous system also gets implicated here. It’s also deeply connected to hormone production, [00:03:00] especially when it comes to things like stress hormones like cortisol or even mood regulating hormones like serotonin. So in short, if B12 is missing, your entire hormone orchestra starts playing out of tune.

So how do you know if your B12 is low? Well, here are some common signs, especially in women. Now, all of these have been true for me. Number one, you’re exhausted even after a full night’s sleep. Number two, you feel dizzy or lightheaded. Number three, your memory is foggy. Number four, your mood is all over the place.

Number five, you get tingling in your hands and feet. And number six, you’re dealing with irregular periods or PMS. That seems worse than usual. Now, if this sounds familiar, I want you to keep listening. Here’s the kicker. Even if your blood work says that your B12 levels are normal, it doesn’t always mean that your body is actually using the B12.

This is what I was just mentioning in my own personal story. So let’s talk about the next topic here. Let’s clear up the confusion. So a lot of women will tell me, well, how do I know if [00:04:00] there’s B12 in my multivitamin? Or how do I know if I’m even supplementing B12? Well, there are different forms of vitamin B12.

Number one, there’s cyanocobalamin. This is the most commonly used. A lot of IV bars are using Sano, Cobain, a lot of your average vitamins, uh, or vitamin stores. This is what they’re gonna give you when you ask for B12. It’s. S, for lack of better terms, the cheap version of B12. And yes, it does involve cyanide, which is why it says cyanocobalamin.

For people like me with M-T-H-F-R gene mutations who don’t methylate, well this can actually be very toxic to the body. So supplementing with cyanocobalamin for someone like me can actually back. It’s the most common and cheapest form, like I said. So it’s often found in store brand vitamins. It’s synthetic.

Your body has to convert it in order to be able to be used. And like I said, for most people not a big deal. But if you do have certain gene mutations like M-T-H-F-R, which by the way at least 40% of the population has, your body might struggle to make that convers. That means that you can take B12 and still be [00:05:00] deficient.

You may need a different form of B12. That leads me to the second one, which is methylcobalamin. Now this is the active form of B12, so in other words, it’s kind of prem methylated for you, so your body can use it right away. There’s no conversion needed. It’s especially helpful for your nervous system and mood regulation.

So if you’re feeling anxious, depressed, or foggy, this is the go-to form. It’s a great option for women with hormonal imbalance, thyroid issues, or adrenal fatigue. Now what I’m learning is I was supplementing with methyl cobain. I was supplementing over 500 milligrams per day, and yet my body still was functionally deficient.

So I recently have moved to the third form of methyl B12, which is hydroxycobalamin. Now this is a natural form that’s often used in injections, and that’s exactly what mine is. It is a, an injection that I put beneath my skin every third day. It stays in your system longer. It’s good at detoxifying the body, especially if you have high levels of nitric oxide or other oxidative stress.

And here’s the deal, a lot of doctors will sometimes recommend this [00:06:00] form if you have severe B12 deficiency or even chronic fatigue. So we’re learning about myself that yes, I am severely B12 deficient despite doing all the right things. So I’m hoping that hydroxycobalamin is the answer for me. Okay, so here’s the easy way to decide what you need.

If you’ve not done the genetic testing and you don’t know what your genetics are, methylcobalamin is gonna be the safest bet to start with. If you’re generally healthy and you just want maintenance, that’s what I would be looking for. You’re looking for a solid, easy to absorb choice. Now, I like Triple Boost.

It is my protein powder of choice. It’s the only protein drink that I consume that is not real food protein. That is not necessarily animal protein, but I love it because it has the bioavailable methyl B12. If you have M-T-H-F-R issues, like I said, or maybe you do the testing and you find your body’s not uptaking it correctly, then you’ll wanna go with something like hydroxycobalamin.

Now again, these are not things that the average doctor is getting asked in appointments, so just consider yourself well versed and ready to ask the right questions. When you go to your doctor and [00:07:00] say, Hey, my energy’s off. Can we test my B12? And oh, by the way. Can we also look into supplementing me with either methylcobalamin or hydroxyl cobain?

So if you’ve been feeling the symptoms that we’ve talked about here, and if you suspect that maybe your B12 might be low, ask for both a B12 blood serum test and methylmalonic acid that’s known as the MMA marker. Now, why does that matter? Because like I said earlier, my B12 came back showing high. I would’ve assumed that I was B12 toxic, but when I tested my methylmalonic acid, we’re actually able to get a fuller, more functional picture of what’s happening within the cell.

We can actually see that my methylmalonic acid was also high, meaning that my body was just dumping B12 and not utilizing it. So both tests are very valuable when you’re looking to kind of see what’s going on with your B12. Okay, so last but not least, I’m gonna give you some quick tips for boosting your B12 naturally.

So, number one, of course, eating more vitamin B12 rich foods, eggs, grass, finished beef, wild [00:08:00] salmon, and organ meat. So you really need to think about your animal products here as being the highest form of B12 rich foods. Now if you are plant-based or vegetarian, it’s gonna be very hard to get enough B12 through food alone.

So a supplement is pretty much necessary for you. Now, also important as far as lifestyle goes is to stress less if you are in chronic stress. And yes, this could be even in a form of over exercising or overactivity, you are going to be draining your B12 even quicker. So supplementation may be helpful for you as well.

But obviously we wanna address the root cause, which is making sure that you’re not so stressed. And then lastly, supporting our gut because if your digestion isn’t working well, you won’t absorb the B12. So even whether you take it from food or supplements, it won’t matter. You’ve got to address your gut health.

So that’s what I’ve got for you today. I hope this episode helps you understand how important B12 is for your hormone health. I hope it gives you some clarity on which type of B12 might work best for you. If you love this episode, share it out with a friend who’s feeling tired or moody or stuck.

It might be the info [00:09:00] that they didn’t know they needed. Now, we’ve done previous episodes here on the podcast about different forms of supplementation. I’m a huge fan of magnesium glycinate of good quality, fish oil, vitamin D, and now we can add B12 to that list.

I hope you’ll take the time to listen again if you need it. Ask the right questions of your doctor. You can always be your own best advocate and really get the answers for your own. Personal root causes. But as always, thank you so much for being with me here today. Your health Doesn’t have to be complicated sometimes it just takes the right info at the right time.

So take care of my friends. Until next time, we’ll talk soon. Bye-bye. [00:10:00]