www.Promiseland.it

Vorrei postare qualche informazione alternativa sull'assunzione di B12 in questo nuovo topic. Vi ricordo che ciò che sto postando NON è frutto di studi scientifici, bensì l'opinione di igienisti con anni di vita crudista alle spalle, e medici igienisti.
Se vis erve la traduzione in italiano ditemelo e cercherò di fare il possibile!

Qui sotto vi riporto l'opinione che Nora mi ha mandato a riguardo. Nora è la mia "gura" crudista americana, con anni di esperienza, è una delle persone che stimo di più. E' la sua posizione, ma magari avete piacere di leggerla. Ve lo traduco rapidamente e sommariamente, e lascio anche la "versione integrale" :)
Per pensarci su, anche se non siete d'accordo (e mi aspetto che molti di voi non lo siano :))

"chiunque ritenga di dover integrare la B12, probabilmente ignora i numerosi sbagli che quotidianamente infligge al proprio corpo, e reputa i suoi sintomi un segnale di carenza, basandosi su teorie false, le stesse che pretendono di usare come standard valori costruiti su una popolazione media malata.
La verità è che il nostro organismo necessita di un minimo quantitativo di B12. Non abbiamo bisogno della quantità che si trova in quei cibi che dovrebbero fornirci la vitamina, specie la carne. Se cerchiamo di assumere la quantità che viene prescritta a chi ha una alimentazione standard finiremo con l'inquinare il nostro sangue, far ammalare i nostri organi e dare problemi al nostro sistema digestivo.
Si ritiene che la frutta non contenga B12, ma la tecnologia che dovrebbe ricercare questa sostanza non è perfetta, e spesso riesce ad identificare nutrienti presenti in abbondanza tale da essere identificabili.
Noi necessitiamo di poca B12, e magari in 1 mango non se ne trova a sufficienza, ma in 3 o 4 frutti è possibile che si possa coprire il nostro fabbisogno. E questo in un solo pasto, cosicchè nel orso della giornata si riesca ad assumere nutrienti a sufficienza.
Questo può sembrare presuntuoso, ma non c'è nulla di presuntuoso nell'idea che siamo fatti per mangiare frutta, il cibo perfetto come è evidenziato dalla nostra affinità per esso. Gli altri animali non ignorano le proprie preferenze e mangiano il cibo per cui sono programmati. Essi conoscono profondamente a livello non intellettivo che se è buono, allora va bene. Agli animali piace ciò di cui hanno bisogno. Ai cavalli piace l'erba e mangiano erba tutto il giorno senza preoccuparsene, ottenendo tutti i nutrienti necessari. Noi siamo parte della natura come ogni altro essere vivente.
Non è pericoloso seguire il nostro istinto, come fanno gli altri animali. E' pericoloso solamente per l'industria che dipende dal fatto che noi agiamo in modo diverso da ciò per cui siamo programmati (industria alimentare, medica, degli integratori...).
Sfortunatamente la civilizzazione ha creato cose che sviano i nostri sensi facendoci pensare che siano cibo, quindi siamo ora costretti a usare la logica per determinare cosa è veramente cibo (ovvero, nulla che sia creato dall'uomo).
Una volta fatta questa discriminazione, possiamo mangiare SOLAMENTE quello che aggrada ai nostri sensi (gusto, odorato...) senza doverci preoccupare dei nutrienti, nemmeno della B12.
La B12 non fa eccezione alla regola per cui se c'è un problema non è l'assunzione di un determinato nutriente innaturale, isolato a risolverlo, bensì questa soluzione andrà ad appesantire ulteriormente gli organi eliminativi.
Sintomi che scompaiono dopo l'assunzione di integratori sono comparabili ai sintomi che scompaiono dopo l'assunzione di droghe."



For anyone to think they have a need for B12 supplements, they'd have to ignore the mountain of excesses they visit upon their body everyday and blame their symptoms on not only an extremely remote possibility (true deficiency), but an entirely false, hole-ridden theory (the one that holds that the blood of diseased people can be used as a standard by which to judge the relative health of health-seekers).

The truth is, our bodies need a miniscule amount of B12. We don't need the amounts that are found in the foods that are supposed to deliver it in "adequate" quantities (mainly meat). If we try to get as much as is commonly floating around the bodies of SAD eating people, we end up eating things that pollute our bloodstreams, clog up our digestive systems and create disease in our organs. It is said that fruits don't contain B12 but the technology for detecting nutrients in foods is not perfect, and it can only identify nutrients that are present in large enough quantities as to be detectable. We need so little B12 that it could easily be the case that in ONE mango there is no detectable B12 but in 3-4 (a typical meal), there is plenty! And that would only constitute one meal of the two or more that might be eaten in any given day by a naturally-living human being.

This may seem presumptuous but there is nothing presumptuous about the idea that human beings should eat mangoes. Clearly fruit is our perfect food, as evidenced by our natural affinity for it. Other animals don't ignore their preferences and instead eat the foods that nutrition authors expound the glories of. They know on a very deep, non-intellectual level that if they like it, it's exactly what they need. That's the way nature is set up -- animals like what they need. Horses like grass and they can eat grass all day without ever thinking about eating anything else, AND they will get all the nutrients their bodies require. We are as much a part of nature as any other organism on earth. It is not risky or dangerous for us to follow our senses, just like all other creatures do. It is only dangerous for the industries whose survival depend on us doing otherwise (the 'food' industry, the supplement industry, the medical industry, etc.). Unfortunately civilization has created things that are intended to fool our senses into believing they are foods, so we have to use our brains at first to identify the proper food categories (i.e., nothing human-made). Once we've done that, we can eat ONLY what appeals to our senses (taste, smell, etc.) and we don't have to worry about nutrients, not even the elusive B12.

B12 is no exception to the rule that if there's a problem, it is not intake it is assimilation and taking fake, fractionated nutrients does nothing except compound the problem by further taxing the eliminative organs. Symptoms that go away after the ingestion of a supplement are just like the ones that go away after the taking of drugs.

Gosia probably has all of this and more on her website (don't recall right now), I just couldn't resist an opportunity to support both you and Gosia in your logical and reasoned decision to not jump on the B12 bandwagon!

High regards,
Nora
http://www.RawSchool.com

by Dr Gina Shaw, D.S., M.A., AIYS (Dip. Irid.)

The subject of Vitamin B12 is not new to most vegans, vegetarians or raw fooders. The supplement companies have many people running to their local health (drug) stores in an effort to make themselves deficiency-free, but is this a good idea? A number of issues will be raised in this article and I will attempt to piece together some information from many different and reliable (non-financially-oriented) sources.

A vitamin B12 deficiency is a serious disorder, but it is never just a B12 deficiency because vitamin and mineral deficiencies never happen in isolation. Indications of a deficiency of vitamin B12, when they do reach a stage where they have shown up, can be quite severe. Fatigue, paleness, anorexia, mental confusion, delusions, paranoia, weight loss, etc. are just some indications that a person may have a B12-deficiency. In my opinion, ME is a B12-deficiency disorder. If you do think you may have a B12-deficiency, it would be wise for you to seek the advice of a health practitioner (such as myself) who is knowledgeable about B12-deficiencies, for immediate advice. This disorder can eventually lead to death if left unchecked.

UK official recommendations have decreased in recent years, the body's needs having been previously over-estimated. Indeed, the Department of Health recognises that some people have lower than average requirements of B12. A whole lifetime's requirement of B12 add up to a 40 milligram speck of red crystals, about one-seventh the size of an average tablet of aspirin! Taking large doses of the vitamin by mouth is pointless because 3ug is the most that can be absorbed at any one time.

Vitamin B12 is excreted in the bile and is effectively reabsorbed. This is known as enterohepatic circulation. The amount of B12 excreted in the bile can vary from 1 to 10ug (micrograms) a day. People on diets low in B12, including vegans and some vegetarians, may be obtaining more B12 from reabsorption than from dietary sources. Reabsorption is the reason it can take over 20 years for a deficiency disease to develop. In comparison, if B12 deficiency is due to a failure in absorption, it can take only three years for a deficiency disease to occur. Since vitamin B12 is recycled in a healthy body, in principle, internal B12 synthesis could fulfil our needs without any B12 provided in the diet, but if cobalt in our diet is lacking, the problem is not so much a lack of B12 synthesising intestinal flora, as a lack of cobalt (which again will need other factors for efficient absorption).

Among the many controversies surrounding vitamin B12, there is the argument that, although intrinsic factor is produced in our stomachs and that our intestines are known to produce vitamin B12, the bacteria is produced too low down in the intestines and cannot be absorbed by our bodies. This argument is sadly still hanging around, however, according to Dr Vetrano, it was disproved by research over 20 years ago and is nothing more than an obsolete scientific theory. Indeed, in a 1999 version of 'Human Anatomy and Physiology' by Marieb, it states quite clearly that we do indeed absorb vitamin B12 through our intestines.

Many people say that the only foods which contain vitamin B12 are animal-derived foods. This also is untrue. No foods naturally contain vitamin B12 - neither animal or plant foods. Vitamin B12 is a microbe - a bacteria - it is produced by microorganisms. Vitamin B12 is the only vitamin that contains a trace element - cobalt - which gives this vitamin its chemical name - cobalamin - which is at the centre of its molecular structure. Humans and all vertebrates require cobalt, although it is assimilated only in the form of vitamin B12.

B12 synthesis is known to occur naturally in the human small intestine (in the ileum), which is the primary site of B12 absorption. As long as gut bacteria have cobalt and certain other nutrients, they produce vitamin B12. According to Dr Michael Klaper, vitamin B12 is present in the mouth and intestines. B12 must be combined with a mucoprotein enzyme named Intrinsic Factor, which is normally present in gastric secretions, to be properly assimilated. If the intrinsic factor is impaired or absent, B12 synthesis will not take place, no matter how much is present in the diet. B12 deficiency may be brought upon by antibiotics (also contained in milk), alcohol, smoking and stress (alcohol damages the liver, so drinkers need more B12, smoking (and all high temp cooked food is smoky) also raises B12 needs).

Many nutritional analyses of foodstuffs were carried out such a long time ago, and, as such, have not taken account of more up-to-date technology in scientific procedures. For instance, Tesco's raspberries now state quite clearly that 100g of raspberries contain 30% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin B12. This cannot be an isolated example of a plant food which contains B12! More likely, it is just one plant food of many which contain this vitamin. Indeed, according to Dr Vetrano, current books on nutrition in the U.S. have now stated that there is B12 in any food that contains quantities of the B vitamin complex, but previously they were just not able to assay the amounts. Nowadays, more modern technology has allowed them to discover that there is B12 in those foods rich in the B complex.

The author does not believe that a vitamin B12 deficiency is more widespread in vegans or vegetarians - this is probably just another marketing lie! In fact, many so-called studies 'showing vegans deficient' have to be carefully studies themselves - many of them do not prove vegans to be deficient at all! In fact, contrary to meat and dairy industry propaganda, meat-eaters are known to be more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency - this has been known since 1959!!(1)

Having said this, we must bear in mind that many vegetarians and vegans still take antibiotics or consume antibiotic-containing foods such as onions, garlic, strong radishes and other foods rich in mustard oil, which are lethal to intestinal flora. The trouble is that once we have damaged our intestinal flora, it is difficult to correct without proper and knowledgeable healthcare and dietary advice. It is of far greater importance to correct intestinal flora problems than to rely on so-called supplements. People who have a physical problem because they think they are not getting enough vitamin B12, are in fact often not assimilating their foods properly because of poor digestion. When digestion is straightened out, B12 can be utilized and produced once again

According to Marieb's 'Human Anatomy and Physiology', vitamin B12 can be destroyed by highly alkaline and highly acid conditions. This assumes that the B12 in meat would be easily destroyed because the hydrochloric acid in our stomaches during the digestion of meat is highly acidic. This may explain why meat-eaters are just as likely to have a B12 deficiency as vegans - even though their diet contains vitamin B12. Also, for meat-eaters, there is antiobiotics contained in meat! Of course, many meat-eaters destroy their friendly bacteria in their intestines by constant putrefaction and the putrefactive bacteria naturally present in meat will give the body a hard time.

Another side to the equation is that low serum B12 levels do not equate to a B12 deficiency necessarily. Just because there is a low level of B12 in the bloodstream, this does not mean that there is a deficiency in the body as a whole, it may well be being utilised by the living cells (such as the central nervous system). In any case, a person who takes supplements may well have 'vitamin B12' floating in their bloodstream, but this does not mean it is usable to the human body as synthetic, inorganic vitamins are not.

The illusionary benefits of supplement-taking result in the person's increased metabolism in order to expel these harmful substances as quickly as possible. This results in a stimulation of the body and the illusion of an improvement in health. The truth is that there is a very delicate balance among hormone secretions, vitamins, enzymes, minerals, etc. This is something that scientists know very little about. These substances do not work alone, but in fact require other factors for them to be effective, like fats, etc. We know very little about life within a cell. The use of supplements can disturb this delicate balance and diminish the efficiency of body functions. Health is reduced commensurate to the imbalance that occurs.

Commercially, vitamin B12 tablets are made from bacteria and the bacteria is deeply fermented. A healthy body will usually expel fermented substances. The main problem with pill supplements is that they: 1) Do not contain the hundreds of other nutrients we may need to be healthy that raw foods provide, and 2) they contain artificial substances/contaminants that are detrimental to health.

Synthetic vitamins and minerals are inorganic and are therefore unusable by the human body. In the manufacture of 'food supplements', chemically pure substances must be used for the most part. If the scientists used naturally derived nutrients, their pills would be too large for us to swallow. Additionally, a chemical 'carrier' is added to make the products acceptable to the palate of the consumer and to bring their product up to an acceptable standard. These chemical carriers, as with all chemicals, are toxic to the human organism. They result in stimulation of the body and an illusionary cure.

According to Dr. John Potter PhD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Seattle, “Food's magic is based on thousands of complex interactions of dozens of different phytochemicals which are difficult to recreate in pills. While 190 solid studies prove that fruit and vegetables benefit, supplements have only a smattering of evidence”. Vitamins, minerals, hormones, etc. do not work in isolation, they work symbiotically. They work with other nutrients in order for their work to be carried out. When these highly complex substances are disturbed, their overall effectiveness can be reduced. However, too much of a nutrient is draining on our vital energy as the human (or non-human) organism may have to expel a nutrient overload. Also, it is doubtful whether, even if you do have a B12 deficiency, you have only a B12 deficiency. A healthier diet and living conditions, as well as a fast may be in order.

According to Dr Douglas Graham, in his book 'Nutrition and Athletic Performance', supplementation has proven to be an inadequate and incomplete method of supplying nutrients as scientists cannot match nature's refined balances. He says that since an estimated ninety per cent of all nutrients are as yet undiscovered, why would we want to start adding nutrients into our diet one at a time rather than eating whole foods? Most nutrients are known to interact symbiotically with at least eight other nutrients and considering this, the odds of healthfully supplying any nutrients in its necessary component package becomes 'infinitesimally minute'. More to the point he adds, 'there has never been a successful attempt to keep an animal or human healthy, or even alive, on a diet composed strictly of nutritional supplements'.

Dan Reeter, at Bio-Systems Laboratories in Colorado is creating one of the world's most comprehensive computer facilities for soil biology testing. He says that, from his extensive tests, plants grown in organically-managed soil make significantly higher levels of usable vitamin B12. It has also been reported that vitamin B12 is present in wild fruits and wild and home-grown plant foods.

The author contends that animal and dairy produce is a poor source of Vitamin B12 since the vitamin is contained in nutrient-deranged foodstuffs which will inevitably destroy the usability of the vitamin. Studies show that those following a typical animal-based diet require more vitamin B12 than those who do not. This is because the typical diet leads to digestive atrophy. Because B12 is peptide-bound in animal products and must be enzymatically cleaved from the peptide bonds to be absorbed, a weakened gastric acid and gastric enzyme secretions (due to a cooked food diet) causes an inability to efficiently extract vitamin B12 from external food. Nevertheless, raw food vegans who have a more powerful digestion actually get more B12 by reabsorption from the bile than they do from external food. Wolfe argues that the natural soil microbes and bacteria found on wild plant foods and unwashed garden plants are typically adequate to supply our B12 requirements. The natural microbes in the soil need to be duplicated and to colonise in our digestive tract, without fermentation or putrefaction.

Another point worth considering is that vitamin B12 Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA's) are based upon the average cooked food (meat and two veg), smoking, drinking person. Commercial interests have indeed grossly exaggerated our needs for many nutrients. These studies tell us nothing of the requirements for a healthy vegetarian. It is very difficult to determine precise individual needs of any vitamin or nutrient, and an overload of any vitamin or other nutrient creates an unnecessary burden on our vital domain. Factors such as rate of metabolism, stress, etc. can determine our differing and often changing needs. Dr Victor Herbert reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1998, Volume 48) that only 0.00000035 ounces (1 microgram) of vitamin B12 is required per day. These minimum vitamin requirements may be inadequate to explain the needs of a healthy raw food vegan, for example, who may require less B12 due to an improved gastric ability and a high ability to recycle vitamin B12. (Cooking destroys microbes and a highly sterilised, cooked vegan diet may not provide the intestines with enough good quality flora). Absorption rates of B12 are higher in healthy individuals than in unhealthy individuals. Studies, based on healthy Indian vegetarian villagers, showed that none of them exhibited symptoms of B12 deficiency, despite levels of .3-.5 micrograms of B12.

Dr Gabriel Cousens argues that vitamin B12 deficiency is typically caused by lack of absorption in the intestinal tract rather than a lack of this vitamin in the diet. Annie and Dr David Jubb argue that people have lived in such a sterile, antiseptic environment for so long that these necessary symbiotic organisms have been less than present in our diet. They argue that by ingesting soil-born organisms you can maintain an enormous reservoir of uncoded antibodies ready to transform specific pathogens, the way nature intended - by eating a little dirt!

If a person is healthy and on a healthy vegan, high-percentage raw food diet and does not habitually over-eat, wrongly combine their foods and abuse their bodies generally, and utilises fasting on occasion, it is unlikely that they will develop B12 deficiency symptoms providing their intestinal flora was not previously deranged. Vitamin B12 deficiency is usually symptomatic of a larger problem i.e. poor intestinal flora, poor absorption and also lack of sunlight.

Harvey Diamond argues that the entire nutrient issue has been made so confusing with contradictory information that it is no wonder that people are bewildered about where to obtain sufficient nutrients. Unfortunately, some people have been so totally misguided and scared that no amount of common-sense reasoning of even factual data can rescue them from the meat, dairy and petrochemical (synthetic food 'supplement' suppliers) multi-million pound industries. The truth is that whatever nutrients the body needs will be contained in its natural foods (for human beings, raw plant foods). Mother Nature knows how to provide for her own. Why would it be that we are created in such a way as to make us a natural plant-eater and hey presto, there is no vitamin B12 provided for us by plants? If you can't get it from raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds or sprouts then WE DON'T NEED IT! Just because a wild fruit or organic foodstuff contains only a small amount, this does not mean it is deficient. It means that we only need a small amount!

The pill pushers are quick to say that our soil is deficient, but according to Diamond and others, if a seed does not receive the elements it needs IT WILL NOT GROW (OR WILL GROW POORLY - author). Also, plants obtain nutrients from other sources in greater amounts: the sun, water and the air. Plants actually obtain only about 1% of nutrients from the soil.

If you do develop a B12 deficiency, certain urgent dietary adjustments may need to be made, and there is a possibility that fasting is in order. In any case, on switching to a healthier diet, be it vegetarian, vegan or raw food (for optimum health), we should go back to nature as much as possible and pay little attention to germ phobics who advise us to scrub our vegetables and fruits. Buy organic and eat home-grown or wild foods and do not clean them too scrupulously! Just as nature intended!.

Please note that it is not recommended for anyone to go on a fast of longer duration than 1½ days wihtout competent supervision, as prolonged fasts must be monitored by a qualified fasting supervisor.

1. 'Fit for Life', Diamond, H. and M., 1987

2. 'The Life Science Institute Course in Natural Health' - 1986

3. 'Nutrition and Athletic Performance', Dr D. Graham, 1999

4. 'Female Balance' article 2001 -K Perrero http://www.living-foods.com

5. Human Anatomy and Phyisology - Marieb - 1999

6. Correspondence with Dr Vetrano and family 2001

7. 'The Sunfood Diet Success Story' by David Wolfe

8. B12 article by the Vegan Society

9 . B12 article by the Vegetarian Society

10. 1990 'Solstice Magazine' article

Rethinking & Clarifying the B12 Issue

By Dr Vivian V. Vetrano

There is no such thing as a B12 deficiency, even in 100% raw vegan food eaters. They do not have to eat dirt, animal products, or take pills to secure coenzymes of B12. Bacteria in the intestinal tract make it for us, and the metabolically usable and necessary forms of coenzyme B12 are contained in unprocessed, fresh natural plant foods, particularly in nuts and seeds. The real problem in so-called B12 deficiency is a failure of digestion and absorption of foods, rather than a deficiency of the vitamin itself.

Vitamin B12 coenzymes are found in nuts and seeds as well as in many common greens, fruits, and many vegetables. If we ate 100 grams of green beans, beets, carrots, and peas we would have half of our so-called daily minimum requirement of Vitamin B12 coenzymes providing our digestion and absorption are normal. From Rodale's The Complete Book of Vitamins, page 236 we find the following clarification: “As you know, the B complex of vitamins is called a ‘complex’ because, instead of being one vitamin, it has turned out to be a large number of related vitamins, which appear generally in the same foods.”

A little publicized source of active Vitamin B12 coenzymes is from bacteria in the mouth, around the teeth, in the nasopharynx, around the tonsils and in the tonsilar crypts, in the folds at the base of the tongue, and in the upper bronchial tree. This source alone will supply sufficient quantities of Vitamin B12 coenzymes for the very small requirement of total vegetarians, especially considering that their needs for this vitamin are not as great as for those on conventional diets.

I have studied the Vitamin B12 issue thoroughly, and have learned that biochemists, neutraceutical scientists, and many writers mistakenly use the term Vitamin B12 for cyanocobalamin, THAT IS NOT USABLE BY THE BODY BUT which is in all vitamin B12 supplements. When speaking of Vitamin B12 they are referring to the semisynthetic Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) that initially was contaminated with poisonous cyanide during its chemical extraction from animal tissues. Carbon columns are used during the extraction process and the carbon combines with nitrogen from the medium forming the poisonous cyanocobalamin, that scientists insist on calling Vitamin B12. The original method used to extract Vitamin B 12 from its sources included heating the medium in a weak acid, the addition of cyanide ion, and exposure to light. In this process the coenzymes were converted to cyanocobalamin, yet this was over looked. (Review of Physiological Chemistry, Harper, Harold A., Lange Medical Publications, New York, 1977, page l81. Also refer to Cobalamin: Biochemistry and Pathophysiology, Wiley. N. and F. Sicuteri, New York, 1972.) MOREOVER, in the manufacture of vitamin supplements, cyanide is added to the medium because the carbon and nitrogen are needed to form large molecules as are found in vitamins; and IN ADDITION they need it to extract the B12 from fermentation liquors and liver homogenates. Carbon is needed in great quantities when making vitamins or any other manufactured vitamin or substance that mimics the natural vitamin that normally contains a lot of carbon.

THE TWO VITAMIN B12 COENZYMES KNOWN TO BE METABOLICALLY ACTIVE IN MAMMALIAN TISSUES ARE 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin (methyl-B12. When extracted in light, these two coenzymes undergo photolysis and are destroyed. Natural B12 is found solely in plants and animals, and that is the only form that can be called “coenzyme B12.”
If an animal or individual is given cyanocobalamin the body removes the cyanide because it is not usable as a coenzyme and it is toxic. Then the cobalt of the former cyanocobalamin can combine with other substances that are not toxic and actually form Vitamin B12 coenzymes that are usable by the body. These normally existing Vitamin B12 coenzymes are labile and break down easily unless inside living tissue.

Potassium in the body can react with the cyanide found in cyanocobalamin – the “Vitamin B 12” – and form toxic potassium cyanide (KCN). Potassium cyanide is a poisonous compound used as a fumigant. This is one reason why the body jettisons the “Vitamin B 12” (i.e., cyanocobalamin) injections so rapidly. Within 24 hours most (about 90%) of the cyanocobalamin in supplements has been eliminated.

The names of cobalamins formed by the body or in a laboratory are: l. hydroxocobalamin if it combines with a hydroxyl ion (OH), and 2. aquocobalamin, when it combines with water. Cobalamin also combines with anions such as nitrite a form of nitrogen, chloride, and sulfur. These are not usable by the body. The two active coenzymes that can be formed in the body after stripping off the cyanide are 5’deoxyadenosylcobalamin, or adenosylcobalamin for short, and methylcobalamin. The problem is that the cyanide is toxic and makes many people sicker than they were before taking the supplement.

Cyanocobalamin is in every vitamin B12 supplement known because it is stable and less costly to manufacture. But it is not usable in the body. If the body has sufficient energy it may be able to offload the cyanide and benefit from the useful component. Mainly, what people experience after taking cyanocobalamin supplements is stimulation. The toxic effect of the cyanide triggers a rush of energy as the body works hard to excrete the poison, and this fools people into believing that the supplement has “worked” to heal them. Meanwhile, if their blood tests show an increase in B12, it mainly reflects the amount of the CYANOCOBALAMIN in the blood stream. The usable forms are carried into the cells and can’t be discovered by testing the blood as is the current practice. Blood tests are often inaccurate and, as previously stated, in the case of cyanocobalamin supplementation and B12 injections, about 90 % of it has been eliminated from the body in 24 hours.

Looking at it Hygienically, no Vitamin B12 therapy can cause a recovery from any so-called deficiency disease. It may only hide the symptoms and cannot give an individual health. When people report that their apparent B12 deficiency symptoms have been relieved by cyanocobalamin supplementation, they are mistaken. They are not getting usable Vitamin B12 coenzymes, and their bodies are forced to convert the cyanide form into the active forms, methylcobalamin, and adenosylcobalamin. This extra function stimulates but wastes nerve energy, and they are are actually getting worse, not better. They have not addressed the cause of their troubles.

In summary, vegans and raw fooders all have sufficient amounts of coenzyme B12 in their diets, and FROM THAT produced in their bodies. The most common basic cause of a natural cobalamin deficiency is a failure to digest, absorb and utilize the various cobalamins from food and from the intestinal tract as in the case of gastritis or gastroenteritis. The cause of malabsorption is commonly a gastrointestinal disorder and this was known by pathologists way back in the l800s. In this case, one's lifestyle must be assessed and brought into unison with the needs of the living organism.

Furthermore, absorption of the natural B12 coenzymes can take place in the mouth, throat, esophagus, bronchial tubes and even in the upper small intestines, as well as all along the intestinal tract. THIS DOES NOT INVOLVE THE COMPLEX ENZYME MECHANISM FOR ABSORPTION (INTRINSIC FACTOR) IN THE SMALL INTESTINE AS REQUIRED BY CYANOCOBALAMIN. THE COENZYMES ARE ABSORBED BY DIFFUSION FROM MUCOUS MEMBRANES.

Pernicious Anemia and B-12
by Dr. Virginia Vetrano

Hygienic Review
Vol. XXVIII January, 1967 No. 5
Pernicious Anemia and B-12
Dr. Virginia Vetrano

"You can't get well of pernicious anemia," so imply all the authorities, "your stomach doesn't produce the intrinsic factor necessary for the absorption of B-12, but as long as you take vitamin B-12 shots, you don't have to worry." In so many words they are saying: don't correct your stomach condition; rely on this crutch, because there are billions of willing microorganisms busily engaged in excreting vitamin B-12 just for you. Recently, we admitted a woman to the Health School who had pernicious anemia. She had had it well over six years and had taken vitamin B-12 for approximately five of those years. She completely lacked hydrochloric acid, and took this in the form of a drug for a while; but then she began using enzymes. She had pain and swelling in her feet and ankles. Six years previously she developed blood clots in her lungs, while receiving shots.
Before entering the Health School, she was taking both vitamin B-12 and iron shots, once a month. Despite medical therapy, she complained of excessive fatigue plus other discomforts before coming to the Health School and she left feeling very well. Accompanying the anemia were mucus colitis and abnormal sounds in the ears (tinnitus). She had also recently suffered with an inflammatory condition of her middle ear, which became so severe that the tympanic membrane burst. She also showed signs of diverticulosis.
Although she was 74 years old and was in a very bad condition when she came, she was feeling very well when she left, after a period of only eight and a half weeks. She was old enough to be set in her ways and much of the difficulty with her was in trying to change her wrong habits of living. She was very anxious to get back to her potato diet. Although she left the Health School prematurely, as many do, she has written back saying that she is doing fine and was amazed at the way she regained her strength and feeling of wellbeing.
She suffered with one condition after another prior to coming to the Health School. Care at the Health School not only started her well on the road to recovery from anemia, but also relieved her of many of her other troubles. This is not unusual with Hygienic attention. It is a well known fact in Hygienic circles that many cases of pernicious anemia double their blood cell count in only one week of fasting, without taking vitamin B-12 shots.
Dr. William Howard Hay recorded 101 cases of pernicious anemia and only eight of them failed to recover, and these were dying when they arrived for his care. It is not news to Hygienists that these cases get well; most abnormalities of the blood are corrected through fasting.
Pernicious anemia is a grave form of anemia, characterized by an extreme reduction in the number of red blood cells with a reduction of the total number of the leukocytes, variation in the size and form of the red blood cells, a lack of hydrochloric acid secretion, often combined with neurologic symptoms and gastrointestinal symptoms in some.
Symptoms: The main symptoms are sore, shiny tongue, a lack of hydrochloric acid and sometimes an absence of the digestive enzymes of the stomach, increased tiredness, weakness, faintness, a waxy pallor or lemon yellow tint, shortness of breath and palpitation, edema, recurrent fever, digestive disturbances, pain in the epigastric region, occasional hemorrhages, often concomitant with flabby fatness.
Nervous symptoms may develop before the symptoms of anemia or later in the course of the disease and develop in about 80 per cent of cases. These take the form of symetrical paresthesias (abnormal sensations) of the toes or fingers, such as formication, burning, tingling or itching. In severe cases numbness develops. In 50 per cent of the cases spinal cord symptoms are severe and cause ataxia and muscular spasticity. Some are unable to hold things and are continuously dropping them. Performing delicate tasks with the hands becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible. The patient may eventually become a cripple due to progressive weakness, spasticity, incoordination and stiffness of the lower extremities. Nothing tastes good to these people as their sense of taste and smell is lost. They become dull, apathetic and irritable, and unable to concentrate. In some oases frank psychoses becomes a problem. Constipation and diarrhea frequently accompany the anemia. Besides a sore !
tongue, some patients complain of the whole mouth being sore.
Clinical Manifestations: The pulse is soft and quickly drops (bounding). In severe cases of anemia, recurrent bouts of fever plague the patient. The tongue is usually shiny and smooth and, in some, very red and raw like beef. The tongue may ulcerate or vesicles may form. The smooth tongue is due to atrophy of the papilla of the tongue. The heart beats very fast and a soft hemic murmur is audible. The liver may be slightly enlarged and the spleen, though seldom palpable, is thought to be enlarged in all cases. When a tuning fork is placed on the shin bone, the patient cannot sense the vibrations, nor does he have a sense of position of the various members of his limbs. He may not be able to sense when touched, but he still senses pain and temperature. If he stands with feet together and eyes closed, he will sway. Reflexes vary from diminished to heightened. Visual defects and optic atrophy develop in occasional cases. Retinal hemorrhages occur in some.
Pathology: In discussing the pathology it is important to realize that most tissue changes discussed in textbooks are changes seen after death. These are not necessarily the condition of the body in the early and even in some late stages of pernicious anemia. For instance, at death the fundus and body of the stomach show extreme atrophy. The coats of the fundus and body of the stomach are very thin and the glands of this area are almost completely destroyed; but during the course of the disease, biopsy findings show that only about 40 per cent of cases have the extreme gastric atrophy seen at autopsy. The biopsy shows varying degrees of atrophic gastritis, with cellular infiltrations into the secreting layers of the stomach and atrophy of the glands. Changes seen at autopsy are end points of pathology and do not portray the condition of the patient when he first presents himself to the physician or the orthobionomist (professional Hygienist).
The blood picture varies with the exacerbations and remissions of the disease. The red cell count may be as low as 500,000 during an exacerbation of the anemia and as high as 4,000,000 during a remission. All the elements of the blood in general are low _ the red cells, the leukocytes, and the platelets (particles necessary for clotting of blood). The hemoglobin per cent is also diminished, but not in proportion to the red cells, so that the color index may be relatively high. Many of the red cells are well colored, giving us the term hyperchromic anemia.
As mentioned before, gastric atrophy is supposedly the basic lesion of pernicious anemia. Atrophy of the gastric glands, it is thought, is responsible for the lack of so-called intrinsic factor which supposedly facilitates the absorption of vitamin B-12 from foods. Boyd states that sometimes the gastric mucosa is as thin as parchment, but again he is viewing the stomach at death. Naturally, digestion would be impaired, due to a lack of gastric secretion, at this stage. The pyloric region or antrum (lower part of the stomach) which secretes only mucus does not atrophy but is completely normal, so he states. In fact, Boyd states that an abrupt change can be seen from the atrophy of the body to the normalcy of the antral region.
Etiology: Pernicious anemia is supposed to be due to a lack of an unknown entity, which has not yet been isolated, called the intrinsic factor or hemopoietin, without which vitamin B-12 cannot be absorbed. Cecil and Loeb state that: "Although the essential lesion of pernicious anemia, failure of intrinsic factor secretion, may arise from many processes interfering with normal gastric secretory function, in most patients the gastric lesion is idiopathic." In other words, the cause of the gastric lesion is unknown.
Guyten states that the intrinsic factor is secreted in the mucous glands of the pyloric area of the stomach and to a lesser degree in the gastric glands. Best and Taylor state the opposite _ that it is the fundus and body of the stomach which secretes the intrinsic factor, and that the pathology which is characteristic of pernicious anemia proves this because the pyloric region is normal whereas the fundus and body of the stomach are atrophied.
The intrinsic factor is not secreted by the small intestines, although some think it is secreted at the beginning of the duodenum. It is thought to be a mucoprotein or many mucoproteins, and the manner by which it facilitates absorption of B-12 is unknown. It is thought to be an enzyme which acts at a pH of seven. That of the hog stomach tissue can be digested with trypsin and pepsin and is destroyed by heating to 45 degrees centigrade.
Since the intrinsic factor acts only in a pH of seven, it would seem that it would of necessity be useful only in an area of the digestive tract that is neutral or be altogether non-useful to man. Inasmuch as the secretions of the gastrointestinal tract of man are either acid or alkaline, where would the intrinsic factor be useful? Is this a real substance or the result of poor digestion and absorption? When most of the stomach is removed because of gasrtic ulcer or cancer, pernicious anemia will develop in two to seven years. Is this really due to a lack of intrinsic factor or poor digestion due to a lack of secretions in general?
We know that patients who have been on vitamin B-12 injections for years without much benefit can take a fast and get well. This would seem to indicate that they still had the power to secrete the so-called intrinsic factor. It would also indicate that, perhaps, they were suffering with a simple gastritis, and that after fasting the inflammatory condition healed, leaving them better able to secrete the necessary enzymes for good digestion. We do know the anemic get well while fasting and stay well if they continue to live properly. Why they get well could be due to a number of factors. The blood picture improves while fasting, though no extraneous vitamin B-12 is available.
Highly important, I believe, is die elimination of the toxic factor while fasting. This removes a great inhibiting influence from the blood-forming tissues. After the fast, these subjects are fed properly combined foods of vegetable origin. Properly combining their foods enables them to digest and absorb all elements in the diet. If their gastric mucosa is damaged or atrophied, as in long standing cases, feeding foods in compatible combinations will not place a burden on the impaired organ and better nutrition is maintained despite the handicap.
Hygienically, it is thought that toxemia plays an important role in the production of pernicious anemia. Toxemia itself causes lowered functioning power, not only of the secreting glands of the stomach, but of every organ in the body, including the blood-forming organs. Lowered functioning power of the gastrointestinal system hinders digestion, causing much fermentation and putrefaction. This in turn interferes with absorption of nutriments necessary for the production of blood and also causes the absorption of toxic products of indigestion, producing more toxemia which in turn causes more lowered functioning power and consequently less digesting and blood forming power.
Much ado is made of the vegans in England who supposedly after a few years develop pernicious anemia because of a lack of animal proteins in their diet. It is said that they do not develop the blood condition but that they develop the more serious troubles, such as degeneration of the spinal cord and brain. These symptoms, they say, may be developing so insidiously that the vegan may have a serious case of pernicious anemia before he realizes it. Better Nutrition (Nov. 1966, p. 11) advocates that the vegan take vitamin B-12, in extremely small amounts daily, so that this can be prevented. Thus, the big scare is going around that leads the uninformed to believe that man must be a carnivore or he must take vitamins.
Some of the vegans in England, we are informed, are of the tea and white flour biscuit type. Vegans not only abstain from flesh foods, but also from wearing anything of animal origin. This is to emphasize that they are vegetarians for ethical reasons only. I am not stating this with any maliciousness, but only to show that they have not given too much thought to their health, only to the welfare of animals. Therefore, they eat anything they like in any kind of combination that pleases the taste buds. No dietary precautions are taken _ such as getting whole grain foods or raw fruits and vegetables, or a good source of proteins. Their diet is lacking in more than one essential element. Vegans in America who also practice Hygienic living have splendid health. Man does not have to eat animals to get his vitamin B-12.
Vitamin B-12 is necessary in minuscule amounts. This, regardless of what the "authorities" say, we can get in our vegetable foods. We can store enough B-12 in the liver to last approximately two years or more. Some people who have had a total gastrectomy for one reason or another, do not develop pernicious anemia until seven or eight years after the operation. We can store a tremendous amount of vitamin B-12, or we need it in even smaller amounts than thought necessary at present. Guyten states that our minimum daily requirements is less than one microgram a day. People with good digestion and on a wholesome diet probably need less than that.
The question is: can we get it from vegetables? I say yes. We need it in infinitesimal amounts and if one is eating a diet predominating in fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts in the uncooked state, he will get sufficient vitamin B-12 to maintain him in good health for a lifetime.
Most sources state that vegetable products show no "measurable activity" when speaking of this vitamin, called cobalamin for short. "No measurable activity," does not mean that there is none at all in the vegetable. Best and Taylor state that: "The extrinsic factor (vitamin B-12) is present in liver, beef, rice polishings, yeast and other substances rich in the vitamin B complex." They continue that: "It is also found in the intestinal contents of normal persons, as well as in the feces of patients with pernicious anemia. There is, therefore, no reason to believe that a dietary deficiency of this factor is the cause of the disease."
Other authorities also condemn vegetable foods as lacking in vitamin B-12, but they never state that there is no vitamin B-12 in vegetable foods. Indeed, I think they are hiding the truth. The meat packing industry, who furnishes the money for these latest experiments, has the researchers minimizing the amount of vitamin B-12 found in vegetables and nuts. I hold that if it is not in fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts and bacteria do not manufacture it where man can absorb it, then man does not need it. The diet to which man is constitutionally adapted should furnish all the requisites of good nutrition. If it isn't present in the diet and bacteria do not produce it where it is absorbable by man, then what can we think except that nature must have made a big mistake.
The Cyclopedia of Medicine makes the following statement about cobalamin: "The vitamin B-12 requirements of man are obtained from foods, mainly those of animal protein origin: kidney, liver, heart and muscle meats being the richest sources; but lesser amounts occur in other foods, including eggs, cheese and milk. Vegetables contain practically no vitamin B-12, in contrast to their high content of folic acid." Here again we note some hedging. In contrast to the folic acid content, vegetables have practically no vitamin B-12 content. They do not state that there is no vitamin B-12 what-so-ever in vegetables.
Which vegetables do they use and are they cooked when the assay is made? Under what conditions were the tests made? A change in conditions will many times change results and produce errors in thinking. Are they sincerely trying to find it in vegetable products or are the researchers trying to satisfy their backers by finding the demanded results. Furthermore, no one gives us any information about nuts. They only contrast animal products to vegetables. What about fruits and nuts? Not until we are furnished with a reliable source of information, and not until they have tested all fruits, vegetables and nuts can we say that vegans are unable to get vitamin B-12 in their diet.
Although we only need one microgram a day, Adele Davis in Let's Get Well asserts that the strict vegetarian should take 50 grams of cobalamin (vitamin B-12) a week, "while their stomach secretions are still normal," thus implying that in time on the vegetarian diet, they I will soon develop abnormal stomachs. She states that of the vegetable foods, only "yeast, wheat germ and soybeans contain appreciable traces of vitamin B-12." Evidently she is misinformed, for it is stated in Boyd's pathology that vitamin B-12 is found in ground nuts (peanuts). However, he also has the idea that it is found in only one or two vegetable foods.
Experiments made not so many years ago * by Berg, who was not subsidized by special interests, showed that growth will be normal in animals who have a supply of fresh fruits and vegetables. White, Handler, Smith and Stetten in their Principles of Biochemistry state that: "The requirement of cobalamin is so minute that its wide distribution in foodstuffs and retention by the animal organism would seem to preclude the possibility of nutritional deficiency in normal individuals."
Berg states that vitamin B complex is present in a large number of foodstuffs and Best and Taylor state that vitamin B-12 is found in every food which has vitamin B complex in it; so, vegetables have vitamin B-12 in them even if in small amounts. I have already shown that we only need small amounts of cobalamin and that normal people have the ability to concentrate it and absorb it readily.
Berg states that: "The following whole grains and other seeds contain considerable amounts (of B complex): oats, maize, wheat, barley, malted grain, beans, soy beans, earthnuts, pulses generally, cotton seeds. Cajori reports that to maintain growth in rats, 0.5 gramme of chestnuts, walnuts or hickory nuts, 2 gramme of pine kernels, hazel nuts or Para nuts, and nearly 3 grammes of almonds were requisite. According to McCollum and Simmonds, seeds in general contain large quantities of B, the _ husks and the brans being especially rich in this substance, which can easily be extracted therefrom." . . . "Aron insists that fresh fruits contain plenty of B. Plums, pears and apples are not conspicuous in this respect; but cocoanut cake, oranges and lemons contain large quantities; and according to Osborne and Mendel, orange juice is as effective in this respect as fresh milk.
"All observers are agreed in describing cabbage as peculiarly rich in B; so are green vegetables in general. According to Osborne and Mendel, one gramme of the dried substance of lucerne or spinach contains as much B as do 2 grammes of wheat, soy beans, eggs or milk; white cabbage, clover and timothy grass are about equal to spinach. According to Steenbock, Gross and Sell, and according to Osborne and Mendel, among the last named, clover is the richest in B. Lucerne contains nearly as much, but the amount in spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, and potatoes, is only half as great, and that in beetroots is less _ all measured in the dried state. The dried substance of 16 cc of milk has the same efficacy as 1 gramme of dried spinach. According to Osborne and Mendel, confirmed by Whipple, onions are fairly rich in B. So are turnips, mangel-wurzels, the leaves of the same, and tomatoes, very rich in B; and according to Steenbock, Gross and Sell, in an artificial diet, !
15 per cent of carrots, swedes, or the rhizomes of Arum maculatum (lords and ladies), will suffice to maintain normal growth, when sweet potatoes were used instead of the carrots, etc., 20 per cent was requisite; of sugar beet or of mangel-wurzel, even more was needed." While it is true that Berg was speaking of vitamin B complex, it is nonetheless true that where vitamin B complex is found, there also is found B-12, even if in small amounts.
B complex is fairly insensitive to heat, but is water soluble and will be found in the juices of vegetables which are thrown away in many households. During the cooking process of meat, 20 to 50 per cent of vitamin B-12 is lost, according to authorities. Can we not assume that much of this vitamin in vegetables is also lost in the cooking process and that by eating more raw fruits, vegetables and nuts more vitamin B-12 will be saved.
Some animals, such as fowl, get cobalamin by eating manure which is a rich source. Ruminants are furnished B-12 or cobalamin by microorganisms which produce it in their digestive tracts; but in slighted man, vitamin B-12 is only synthesized by microorganisms in the large bowel where it can't be absorbed. Absorption of vitamin B-12 in man, we are taught, takes place mainly in the terminal ilium. It seems that man has no alternatives except to take pills or eat dead animal organs or worse yet, become a coprophagist and eat feces, or die of pernicious anemia. If we have to become coprophagists and eat dung, activated sewage sludge, dried estuarine mud, dead parts of animals, and vitamin pills to derive so-called essential nutrients for life, strength and health, then something is surely wrong. Nature did not look out for man.
A few years ago nutritionists urged people to take calcium and phosphorus because that's the stuff teeth and bones are made of. Now recent studies say we can't make teeth even if we have an abundance of calcium and phosphorus, without magnesium. The fact is the chemistry of the body is almost as unknown today as it was a hundred years ago. No one can get into a live cell and watch the chemical activities going on, so no one really knows what man needs or the proportions that he needs these things in. We only know that a simple natural uncooked diet of green vegetables, fruits and nuts grown in good soil without sprays, will furnish all the necessary vitamins and minerals, and in the proper proportions. If man observes proper food combining and does not hamper digestion in any way, and maintains emotional poise, then he will be able to extract from live foods all the elements necessary for health, strength and long life.
While producing commercial aureomycin, the organism streptomyces aureofaciens is grown in a culture medium to induce the production of the largest amount of the antibiotic. The antibiotic is then extracted from the total products of the bacteria, thus leaving a residue. Naturally, all chemists serving commercial interests, must find some use for the residue. Vitamin B-12 was part of the residue; hence, a market must be made for it. Could this be one of the reasons why we must either eat flesh or take vitamin pills?
Let us get back to pernicious anemia. Before the medical profession had liver, liver extract and vitamin B-12, pernicious anemia was "progressively and uniformly" fatal under their care. Under Hygienic care, as far back as 60 years ago, Weger says: "The only cases of pernicious anemia that fail to respond favorably to Hygienic methods are those in which the heart muscle has degenerated and in which a general dropsical condition has existed for a long time, accompanied (as is often the case) by cerebral manifestations or mania and profound hemolytic jaundice. These advanced symptoms indicate that the organism has passed beyond the power of recuperation because of nutritional devitalization." Dr. Hay in his Health Via Diet tells of his 101 cases of pernicious anemia where only eight failed to recover. Dr. Hay says of these: "The blood during a fast undergoes no visible changes as to cell count unless markedly abnormal when the fast is begun in which case there is a return to normal." For most of two weeks (in progressive pernicious anemia) the red erythrocyte count continues to fall before there is a regeneration in the blood-making organs; then gradually the microscopic picture begins to show round erythrocytes with regular edges, no crenations or irregularities, and soon there is noticeable increase in the number of these with gradual disappearance of the adventitious cells present in the beginning.
"Not unusually there is a gain during the succeeding two weeks that brings the total back to the normal five million erythrocyte count, even though this may have been at, or below, one million in the beginning." At the Tilden Health School 75 per cent of the cases recovered and of the deaths he says: "The deaths, which represent the 25 per cent, occurred within a few days of admission to the institution. These cases were so far gone that nothing could be done, and no treatment was attempted, as they were dying when admitted." Medical treatment makes of the patient a physiological cripple. It does not remove the cause of the disease; hence, the gastric condition is not corrected so that his nutritional status remains poor, to say the least, and the gastric condition which is not corrected very often progresses to cancer and an early death.

Dr. Virginia Vetrano

Grazie Sara!
Interessantissimo.
ciao
Lia

Se si potesse tradurre tutto..!
Grazie

silvy ha scritto:Se si potesse tradurre tutto..!
Grazie

aarrrgghhh!! Ok... e se in alternativa facessi un corsino di inglese? :-)
Ok datemi il tempo, tradurrò...

Non siamo tutti uguali perchè la mia esperienza con la vitaminaB12 è questa: nonostante assumessi 100 microgrammi al giorno di integratore della medesima, forse anche a causa di un mio consumo eccessivo di alghe, alla prova specchio mi sono ritrovato la metà interna della lingua di colore nero. Dopo aver immediatamente sospeso le alghe e mangiato circa 50 grammi di fegato di bovino adulto (non ho fatto altri voti che essere in forma), il sintomo nel giro di qualche giorno è scomparso.

gerardo ha scritto:Dopo aver immediatamente sospeso le alghe e mangiato circa 50 grammi di fegato di bovino adulto

Ma che schifo!!

Da altre parti ho letto che la vitamina b12 viene prodotta anche dalla flora batterica intestinale umana. Come mai allora tutta questa ossessione a dover integrare la b12 se il nostro corpo è in grado di sintetizzarla?