B12 energy ideas

[Barefoothobbit]

Hi all,

My boyfriend has B12 deficiency caused by absorption issues. He has bounced between different caffeine and energy supplements for years but these are often short-term fixes and can leave him feeling worse.

I'm looking into energy supplements which are less short-term, such as slow-release energy bars which I'm making from nuts and oats etc.

Has anyone found anything that works well for energy but doesn't result in a crash in energy?

Thanks in advance!

[Barefoothobbit]

Oh, he also receives injections every four weeks and usually takes b12 tablets.

[fbirder]

All these energy drinks do nothing that a bowl of porridge and a cup of coffee can’t do.

‘High energy’ foods and drinks means high calorie foods and drinks. The worst ones have simple sugars like glucose that are absorbed quickly. This sudden boost in blood glucose doesn’t give you any more energy (nor does it give anybody a ‘sugar rush’). However, it is the best possible way of screwing with your body’s glucose management - the first step to Type 2 diabetes.

The other stuff they contain is caffeine. A stimulant drug with potentially nasty effects. nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/w...

I’ll never understand why these things aren’t banned, or at least have a health warning.

[Barefoothobbit in reply to fbirder]

Yes, I'm trying to avoid that by making my own energy bars containing nuts and oats.

He's drinking a lot of coffee at the moment which is just making things worse to be honest! Caffeine is very addictive for him and I'm hoping to get him off the caffeine without leaving him drained, suffering from headaches and in a bad mood (worsened by B12 deficiency).

[deniseinmilden]

There's a much more simple and effective answer... More injections and supporting supplements. If you need it, you need it.

If you have higher energy foods without the nutrients to release the energy at cellular level all you will do is put on weight and it will make things worse as it'll be harder to lug about a fat, heavy body.

Small meat steaks with lots of salad and fruits is the best option for a healthy body but with an absorption issue the only option is to supplement this with more concentred sources of nutrients.

[KimberinUS]

hi there,

just read post. seems you might be in US as injections are monthly.

i am also from US and get b12 injections due to b12 deficiency, felt better but still fatigued.

after doing lots of research i found that one "root" cause of b12 deficiency is h pylori. h pylori messes up b12 absorbtion and is a root cause for iron issues. the body attempts to maintain homeostasis in red blood cells so mine were fine, hemoglobin, ect on a complete metabolic panel. however during chronic infections the body reduces iron absorbtion because all infections need iron in order to survive.

i got a full iron panel, serum iron was 69 and iron saturation percentage was 21. both low in range. dr said both were fine.

i demanded testing for h pylori just to rule it out. i had to demand as i did not have heartburn which is the main symptom for h pylori. i wanted it done. i was tired of being tired. $127 later it was f@#%ing positive!

3 months go by. i still felt like crap. retest. still positive!!! 2nd round of antibiotics taken. exactly 10 days after finished 2nd round of antibiotics, i felt like a million bucks and started going to daily walks!!!! what?!? i had not done that in 4 years!!!

another iron panel done. serum iron 109 and iron percentage saturation 35%. and i am female. optimal for females 110 and 35. imagine that!

optimal for men is different.

fyi, h pylori reduces stomach acid thereby of course messing up b12 and iron but ALSO protein. i imagine the bars you are making for him have protein, which he likely needs.

let him have his caffeine, as he probably feels crap even with it and worse crap without it, but demand h pylori testing.

breath test is best, most reliable, in my opinion. must be off ALL acid reducers for minimum 14 days prior to testing or else can get false negative!!!

hope this helps. best of luck. any questions just click on my user name and then click on message.

[Barefoothobbit in reply to KimberinUS]

Very interesting! We're from the UK and he had a battle to get monthly because his blood tests always show lots of B12 (it's not being absorbed, of course it's high!) he's felt better for having monthly at least.

I have heard of h pylori before, I think he's had a test for it, but I'll look into that further.

He's reduced the sugar intake by just having black coffee and mixes it with whey protein so it's not the end of the world. He just experiences shakes when he does his hobby after having coffee which is why I'm trying to find alternatives.

Thank you for sharing!