Absorbing vitamins

[shaylynn]

I am confused about the absorption of all other vitamins other than B12. If PA causes an absorption problem then are we also not absorbing all the other vitamins, even if they are from supplements?

[Gambit62 Administrator]

the body isn't actually designed to absorb nutrients from tablets so food is always the best way of getting nutrients.

Sometimes things go wrong which means that supplementation is necessary.

The mechanism by which the body absorbs B12 is exceptionally specialised.

PA can result in lower stomach acidity and it also attacks the ileum where folate tends to be absorbed. This means that PA is quite likely to be accompanied by folate deficiency, and yes, it can also be associated with problems with other minerals and vitamins - particularly iron - but the absorption of other minerals and vitamins tends not to be so specialised so can be absorbed throughout the gut meaning they are less likely to be as signficant.

[shaylynn in reply to Gambit62]

Thanks for the info. I was just confused because when I did a nutrient test to check for vitamin deficiencies I was deficient in many other vitamins and I have always eaten extremely healthy... tons of veggies and fruits every day.

[wedgewood]

Vitamin B12 is unfortunately the most difficult of all vitamins to absorb , because it needs not only stomach acid for the process , but also the Intrinsic Factor, which P.A. patients lack Other vitamins are more easily absorbed than B12 , and taking a modest multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will help .

[shaylynn in reply to wedgewood]

Thank you.

[pollianna in reply to shaylynn]

Hey Shaylynn,

I was always taught to wash down my food with a drink if some kind.

Drinking with meals waters down the stomach acid. I guess unless your drinking a spot of wine.

I never drink when I actually eat, havent for years and seem to have a strong stomach.

Waiters do tend to think Im cheap tho lol

[shaylynn in reply to pollianna]

Yes, I read that as well and I am not drinking with my meals now

[SeabeeWifeWidger in reply to shaylynn]

Thank you Shaylynn.. I had the same concerns.

[deniseinmilden]

Hi!

I'm sorry but I've just typed a long reply and then lost it before I could send it. I've run out of time now but will try again tomorrow.

As well as simple PA there are other reasons for not absorbing vitamins and minerals from our diet - one being loosely called malabsorption syndrome.

[deniseinmilden in reply to deniseinmilden]

In the case of malabsorption syndrome the digestive tract can stop absorbing other essential vitamins and minerals, all of which are required to make our bodies work.

There is often an additional problem with the metabolism at cellular level but I'm not sure if this is a stand-alone problem or just a consequence of the malabsorption leading to deficiencies of something else which becomes the limiting factor in the metabolism process.

Another question I'm looking into is whether there is also a way that the body is actually eliminating the nutrients faster than expected, as well as the problem of just not absorbing them.

[deniseinmilden]

To feel well we need to get the correct balance of vitamins and minerals into our system but it is really hard to achieve this as there are so many variables.

Most of us absorb something from our diet so it is important to at least make an informed guess as to what is available from our food and drink and what is going to be required by our bodies to cover our output (exercise, thinking and environment).

The whole thing can be complicated by an autoimmune response which goes in cycles of remission and relapse so sometimes it's worse than others!

We need to understand the symptoms of deficiency and excess of all our main nutrients and then learn to listen to our bodies so we can supplement to balance our requirements.

Most things, including tablet medications can be absorbed to some degree through the membranes in our mouth, under the tongue or along the jawline.

[Polaris]

Hi Shaylynn. B12, being a large molecule, means deficiency is actually very common, because it's the most difficult of all vitamins to absorb, especially if you have gastric/digestive problems.

Dr Marc Ryan's excellent article on his Hashimoto's Facebook page was a lightbulb moment for me in the search for answers to the cause of, not just Hashi's autoimmune disease but autoimmune PA/B12 def. in particular and the importance of a healthy biome. I reversed many painful, long standing digestive disorders with a gluten free diet and daily dollops of organic sauerkraut, the best probiotic I'd tried.

This is a précis of the article:

"Hashimoto's Health Tip: The Little Paint Brushes in Your Tummy"

"Anyone who has lived with Hashimoto's knows that this is so much more than a thyroid problem. The biggest axis of trouble is often found in the thyroid-brain-gut connection. And one common problem that causes this is leaky gut or intestinal permeability. Many researchers believe that this is ground zero for autoimmune disease. It is the place that autoimmune disease is born and the place that makes it get worse and worse. And when things get worse in the gut, problems in the thyroid and brain often follow. In this post, I wanted to shed light on some little known but very helpful enzymes called brush border enzymes.

The small intestines are the place where leaky gut often happens. And the walls of the small intestines are lined with tiny hair like protrusions called microvilli. On a regular microscope they kind of look like a tiny, fuzzy paint brush. This fuzzy appearance is why they came up with the term "brush border" to describe them.

This is the place where absorption happens.

And many people with Hashimoto's suffer from deficiencies of important vitamins and nutrients (like vitamin D, vitamin B12 and B6, zinc, selenium, magnesium, iron, etc.)

One of the reasons for this is the breakdown of these brush borders.

Foods high in lectins or other inflammatory substances (like gluten, and other grains, beans and nightshades) can actually cause these brush borders to get crushed and destroyed.

The microvilli (little hairs) that make up the brush border have enzymes for this final part of digestion anchored into their membrane as membrane proteins. These enzymes are found near to the transporters that will then allow absorption of digested nutrients."

[shaylynn in reply to Polaris]

Thank you for that information. Very helpful.

[fbirder]

The B12 molecule is too large to cross biological membranes without help.

In a normal person food is consumed that contains B12. Some of this B12 is unattached to anything, which makes it vulnerable to attack by stomach acids. To prevent this from happening your saliva contains a protein called haptocorrin (HC). This binds to any B12 molecules it encounters and protects them from the acid in the stomach.

Note that B12 in sublingual sprays and lozenges will also bind to HC, making it much larger so that the HC-B12 combination cannot be absorbed at all.

When the food enters the stomach the acid present will start to break down the cells, releasing any B12. Free B12 will bind to HC, protecting it from the acid. At the same time the stomach releases another protein - Intrinsic Factor (IF).

Then the food, including the HC-B12 and the IF pass into the duodenum. There, pancreatic enzymes split the HC-B12 and the B12 is then free to bind to the IF.

The IF-B12 then passes through the small intestine until it reaches the ileum. There it finds special receptors in the gut wall that recognise the IF-B12 and ‘swallows’ it into a cell. The IF is then removed and the free B12 passed into the bloodstream.

If your only problem is a lack of IF then, obviously, only B12 absorption will be affected. But, as others have noted, PA also means low stomach acid which can seriously hinder absorption of other things, especially iron.

Note, also, that the B12 molecule spends most of its time in the gut attached to one protein or another. And intact proteins just do not cross the gut all without help. Not even a tiny bit.

[wedgewood in reply to fbirder]

Thanks for that insight .