Vaping B12

[fionasloane]

Hi all

I saw this article today: sciencealert.com/vaping-vit...

What does everyone think about this?

Fiona

[fbirder]

I think it’s complete and utter nonsense.

To be absorbed across a biological membrane a drug needs to be small and fat soluble. B12 is large and water soluble. Drugs like nicotine, THC and salbutamol are all fairly small (molecular masses of 162, 324, and 239, respectively) compared to B12 (molecular mass of 1355).

The linked article says that three of the (very old) references report absorption of B12 administered using a ‘cool mist’ technique. The B12 molecule is likely to be degraded by the heat required to vapourise it. However even if the B12 survives those high temperatures, inhaled absorption is notoriously difficult to measure, because it’s impossible to tell how much of the dose is swallowed. So these cowboys have no evidence at all that vaped B12 is actually absorbed.

People often say that big pharma aren’t interested in B12 because there’s no profit in it. But if they thought they could develop a (patentable) delivery mechanism that worked, then they would find a nice profit. It wouldn’t be that difficult to adapt the inhalers used for stuff like salbutamol.

[deniseinmilden in reply to fbirder]

Gambit62 gets benefits from her nasal sprays as do many others.

I'm definitely not supporting vaping, just saying...

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to deniseinmilden]

studies on delivery methods show that on average 3% of B12 is absorbed from nasal sprays, just over 1% from sublinguals and just under 1% from pills.

These are of course averages so some will do better and others will do worse. I think the product claims of 'many times' more than pills is at best being loose with terminology. I am aware of one ethnic group that was reported to have no word for any number bigger than 3 so many was used above this but even in their culture 3x would be stretching the use of many.times.

Like fbirder I'm also extremely sceptical that enough of the B12 would be in a bio-accessible form given the sensitivity of the B12 molecule to heat.

The best way of getting vitamins and minerals is from food - that is what the body was designed to do. Supplements may be necessary where there are specific absorption problems, such as PA but need to be taken with care.

[deniseinmilden in reply to Gambit62]

Thank you for your reply - I agree completely.

[fbirder in reply to Gambit62]

Have any of those absorption studies been carried out in people with definite PA? Or were they just carried out in people with a B12 deficiency? This is the study most quoted by proponents of replacing IM with oral B12. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/160...

And this is their criteria for including patients in their analysis - "Study participants with low serum vitamin B12 levels, meeting criteria for vitamin B12 replacement therapy."

[Gambit62 Administrator in reply to fbirder]

in relation to oral this study looked specifically at patients with PA

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

This study actually gives intra-nasal at 2% - not specific to PA but does seem to have been specific to people with B12 absorption problems. It was also a very small study

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

this study - again small - and looking at people with B12 absorption problems as result of surgery

gastrojournal.org/article/S...

[helvella]

Despite the insistence by so many who are involved in the vaping industry, I am not convinced that it is anything like as safe as has been made out.

The simple issue of taking in hot air (regardless anything else) is being looked at as possibly having dangers.

After all, drinking hot drinks appears possibly to cause cancer (though at the extreme end rather than the cup of tea that has sat for a while before being drunk).

[fbirder in reply to helvella]

If breathing hot air is dangerous then that'll ruin the healthy reputation of saunas.

[Sweetcheeks832]

I have been vaping b12, (healthvape) for nearly a year. It's methylcobalamin and I have stopped my self injecting all together. My levels have maintained around 1100. I take 10 puffs a day. Some 50mcg from those puffs. I test once every two months with my internal meds doctor. I've fluctuated between 1000 to 1206, 1206 being my highest reading ever. I was a low 98 when diagnosed so I am very happy. On injection alone, I never really felt better. Taking folic acid and sublinguals helped that first year but I knew I could feel better. It wasn't until I was vaping the b12 and taking folic acid for the least year that I felt normal again. I have a good solid baseline and in a very healthy zone. I'm back to the gym, running and living my life again. All i can say is that although people here are having doubts, I'm not. Nothing ventured nothing gained. It cost me $12 on Amazon each month. I figured for that cost if it didn't work. I didn't have much to lose. However, it had made the world of difference for me. My lab work showed that I am maintaining and like I said, I am no longer injecting. My internal meds doctor and I, are very happy. I'm just giving you my point of view. I'm not saying what is right for me is right for you. But I also say that you will never know until you try it yourself.