Lynn Capehart Wellness Project

THIS IS AN EASY WAY TO INCREASE ENERGY LEVELS

CATEGORY: 1: Simple Malnutrition

RECOMMENDED SUPPLEMENT: Vitamin B12

Fatigue is tricky. Like headaches, it accompanies almost every disorder known to humankind, and is a side effect of many drugs. It can also be a function of mood: If something bad happens to you, you can find yourself feeling tired for no reason except it. But fatigue can signal something serious, even life threatening—The National Institute of Health reports that “unusual fatigue” is the most commonly reported symptom in women who have heart attacks, with over 70 percent complaining of it beforehand.

Or it can simply be the result of a week of hardy partying and not getting enough sleep or nutrition. Or even the result of a hormone imbalance.

Physicians agree that for most people the main reason for lack of energy is the failure to get enough sleep on a regular basis. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported the results of a study showing that more than 25 percent of adults get six hours or less of sleep every night, which is unhealthy. One in ten reported not having a good night’s sleep in over a month. You can bet that these same people complain of fatigue and low energy.  

Fatigue occurs across all age groups and cultures, but it is more prevalent in the elderly and those with serious disorders. Depending on the reason, it can be rare and something you just deal with on those occasions. It can be something connected to an event that happens regularly, but not daily. Or it can be daily, long term and debilitating, what is referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).

VITAMIN B12 THERAPY

Besides increasing energy levels and making you feel more alert, B12 is also important to proper nervous system function, sperm production, normal growth, and the proper functioning of the immune system. Important to this discussion is the fact that B12 is closely involved in the production of melatonin, which controls the release of many hormones that are involved in the sleep/wake cycle. If your problem is not diet, or lack of sleep, it may be hormonal, and B12 can still help you.

Vitamin B12 is a component of B Complex, and the only element that cannot be synthesized in a laboratory or extracted from plants. It is the only supplement that cannot be obtained from a variety of food sources. B12 must be grown in bacteria or molds like penicillin, and other than food supplements, is available only in red meat and dairy products. Strictly vegetarian diets therefore are deficient in B12.

But wait a minute, you say. Aren’t we being told to cut back on things like red meat and dairy to guard against high cholesterol? That’s right, and since we can only get B12 from these sources, if we cut back without supplementing, we risk a deficiency and subsequent fatigue, an immediate result of insufficient B12 intake.

The most common form of B12 supplementation is cyanocobalamin in tablet form. Since it’s all synthesized the same way, you can use almost any B12 product, except a time released or sustained release one. Because it’s water soluble, extensive amounts of B12 cannot be stored in your body, and 95 percent is washed out everyday. Meaning that you need to replenish the internal supply daily.

The energy you get from regular B12 use is wonderfully subtle, even, and mellow. You may not feel anything major when you start taking it. You will just suddenly notice that you have gotten so much more done over the past few days, way beyond your normal production level. Some people don’t notice the difference in their energy levels until they stop taking B12 and go back to their usual funk. Then the improvement is obvious to them.  

THE OXYGEN CONNECTION

B12 is vital to red blood cell production. Red blood cells are responsible for the efficient transport of oxygen to all parts of your body. Oxygen is what enables your body to release and use energy stored in your food and later in your cells, and to use that energy to perform cellular functions, like making you feel energized. Every cell in your body needs oxygen for this reason.

Your blood stream picks up oxygen in your lungs as you breathe, and carries it to the rest of your body. B12 facilitates this task, getting more oxygen to your brain and your muscles, giving you an overall feeling of sustained energy without manic side effects. And you don’t crash when it wears off, because your body hasn’t been artificially stimulated. All you are doing, is getting more oxygen moving around in there by providing missing nutrition.

HOW TO USE VITAMIN B12

There are different ways to use B12 to combat fatigue and low energy:

1.         You can use it daily to ensure that your blood is always well oxygenated and therefore that your energy remains high and on an even keel. If you have reason to believe that your fatigue problems are hormonal, it is recommended that you take B12 daily.

2.         You can use it only on those days when your energy has dipped and you need a boost.

3.         You can use it to keep your mind and body energized and alert for a limited period, when you know there is no chance of your getting enough sleep to function normally.    

4.         You can even use it, along with other supplements, to treat Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

*          *          *

1.         DAILY B12 THERAPY TO MAINTAIN SUSTAINED ENERGY LEVELS  

2.         TAKING B12 ONLY WHEN YOUR ENERGY IS LOW 

3.         USING B12 TO STAY ALERT FOR A LIMITED BUT NECESSARY PERIOD

Let’s talk about this one for a minute. Sometimes you’re faced with a situation or task, like taking exams, caring for a sick child, or participating in military maneuvers, where you can be certain you won’t get enough sleep. There is a way around this problem, where you can function on three to four hours of sleep instead of eight, and remain fine mentally and physically, for a limited time.

But this isn’t a nice thing to do to your body or your brain, and it will catch up with you if you do it for too long. A couple weeks is fine, but you should not try to use this therapy on a long term basis, as a way of circumventing your need for at least eight hours of sleep each night. Without enough sleep your body can’t make all its necessary repairs, and detoxify. Plus, losing sleep ages you, makes you look older. You must get enough sleep on a regular basis to remain healthy in the long term.

4.         ABOUT CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

For a long time CFS has been the boogeyman of disorders. No one knows what is really going on, what causes it, or how to alleviate it. And it’s not serious enough to warrant research funds or real medical attention, so people suffer quietly. CFS is nothing more than a case of long term fatigue. But long term fatigue is no small matter and can be horrific and crippling. Nobody wants to feel tired all the time. Everything becomes a chore, even the things you love doing. You don’t want to go anywhere, see anybody, do anything. Even your mind is sluggish and nowhere near performing up to your true abilities. It’s easy to understand how CFS can morph into depression.

You have CFS if you are (a) tired all the time, (b) it is not alleviated no matter how much you sleep, and (c) it is not attributable to any other medical or psychological cause. So you’re tired and there’s no reason for it. Great.

There is a cognitive analytical construct for arriving at answers to mysteries, a way of proving or disproving a concept, that is referred to as Reductio ad Absurdum, where you figure out what something is by figuring out what it is not. In other words, you continue to eliminate, one by one, the reasons that can’t be true, and what is left you know must be the answer, no matter how absurd it is. Reduce a question or problem, even to the absurd, and you will have your answer. Reductio ad Absurdum.

When you use this concept to analyze CFS, you must eliminate first the question of sleep, because CFS is not improved no matter how much you sleep. You must eliminate any medical or mental problem as a reason, because that is part of the diagnosis. The only thing left then, which must be the answer no matter how absurd it may seem, is nutrition. And the one thing I hope you’re learning from reading my blogs is that nutrition is the answer to all illnesses. Even if your problem is hormonal, that too relates to diet in this instance, because B12 helps regulate your wake/sleep cycle, ensuring that you get enough sleep even as it gives you more energy.

Under this analysis, B12, along with other support vitamins, should help even those with CFS. 

Notes

► A small percentage of people find that B12 doesn’t energize them, but instead makes them sleepy, or just doesn’t work at all to relieve fatigue. This could be caused by not taking it along with B Complex to help it be properly assimilated. It may also indicate that your digestive system does not produce one of the gastric secretions necessary to absorb B12 when taken orally. If so, you can use the sublingual form which is dissolved under your tongue and absorbed directly into your bloodstream, bypassing the intestinal tract. You can also get B12 shots from your physician.

► I have discouraged you from purchasing time released or sustained release B12 products. You need to get the sudden frontload of B12 into your system fast to achieve the effects I discuss here. Having B12 drip slowly into your system is the worst thing you can do regarding the use of B12. If you have a problem with B12 taken orally not working properly for you, follow the above note and take it sublingually.

► Avoid very large doses of sublingual B12. Get the 1000 or 2000 mcg strength only. You have to be careful to avoid causing a deficiency of other elements of the B Complex, which could happen with those ultra large strengths.

Please be nice to each other, and look for my next blog: Blog 19: Increasing Sexual Pleasure, where I tell you how a single supplement can enhance your experiences up to ten fold.  

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