It helped heal my pinched nerve
[ ] THE REVIEW The reason why I take this product is to ensure I get enough B-12. Many multi-vitamins on the market have B-12, but it is cyanocobalamin. The cyano form needs to be co-enzymed in the liver to produce methylcobalamin before it can be used by the cells in our body. The methyl form, therefore, is already in its bio-available form. The downside to the methyl form is that the molecule is less stable in the stomach, which destroys some of the vitamin before it can reach the bloodstream. That is why you find the methyl form in sublingual lozenges. The lozenge allows the methyl B-12 to get absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the blood vessels under the tongue. Keep in mind that only 10-15% gets absorbed this way, so 1,000 mcg will provide 100-150 mcg of absorption into the blood stream. 100% of the daily value is 6 mcg, so this provides 1,667-2,500% daily value, which is a very good amount. A friend of mine is a vegetarian, and he said he was tired all the time. I let him know that he might not be getting enough B-12 because he doesn't eat meat or fish and recommended this product to him. I ran into him a week later, and he told me that these helped him with not feeling tired all the time. He said it was very noticeable. I eat salmon, but I still take these because B-12 is water soluble meaning it leaves the body quickly. I take these to ensure my levels of B-12 are adequate because I have had some issues with nerves and myelin sheath (the cells surrounding the nerves). [ ] A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: with a pinched nerve - 4/18/2018 I pinched my thumb a couple of weeks ago. My nerve must have gotten pinched because every time I rubbed the top of my thumb I felt a sharp pain. The pain was from the surface contact of just rubbing the skin. It felt like getting stabbed with a little needle every time I rubbed it. This pain did not go away after a whole week. It didn't even diminish. I noticed I was not taking my Methyl B-12 (shame on me of course), so I thought why not take some. B-12 is important to repair the Myelin sheath around the nerve cells. I would take one Methyl B-12 10,000 mcg and then follow up with the 1,000 dose (this product) throughout the day. After I started back on the Methyl B-12 my pain started getting less and less. Now, about a week later, it's about <5% of what it was. Bear in mind it only started getting better after I started back on the Methyl B-12. If anything, this proves to me that this form of B-12 makes a difference. Here is the higher dose Methyl B-12 I took: NOW Methyl B-12 10,000 mcg,60 Lozenges I have written a review for that product also. [update 5/15/18] My pinched nerve is now >99% healed. It took a long time, but then again, the myelin sheath does take longer to heal. I only have a little remnant of a feeling when I rub the area. There is no pain, but it does feel different. Hey, I'll take it over sharp stabbing pain. I am so glad I took this supplement because, again, it was not healing until I started taking these. [update 6/13/18] I am very pleased to report that the little remnant of a weird feeling is also now gone. My thumb is now 100% healed. [ ] WARNING: About which Methyl B-12 size option to choose above: As of 4/18/2018, the size options above are misleading. I purchased the 100 count, which is the Methyl B-12 1,000 mcg. The 60 count and the 60 count (2-pack) are both 5,000 mcg. Be warned if you select a different size you could be not getting what you expected. Why this is especially important is that the 5,000 mcg 60 count contains Folic Acid, and this product (1,000 mcg) does not. You might not want extra Folic Acid with your Methyl B-12, which I don't, so be careful in only selecting the 100 count above if you want the 1,000 mcg without Folic Acid. A really good reason why you don't want Folic Acid mixed in with your Methyl B-12 supplement is that people who need to supplement with B-12 might be inclined to take multiple doses throughout the day of Methyl B-12. Now for Methyl B-12, that is beneficial, but for Folic Acid, that is detrimental. Multiple doses of 100% Daily Allowance of Folic Acid can then lead to an overdose of Folic Acid. So, make sure your Methyl B-12 DOES NOT have Folic Acid so you CAN take multiple doses throughout the day if needed. For example, I took multiple doses throughout the day to help heal my pinched nerve. I'm actually surprised Now Foods does this because they are usually really good about not making these types of mistakes in their supplements. This is very atypical of them. [ ] FORMS OF B12 - Hydroxocobalamin is found in meat products. - Cyanocobalamin is a synthetic form added to foods or taken as a supplement. This is a more stable form that can survive the stomach acid. - Adenosylcobalamin is found in sublingual supplementation (not as common). - Methylcobalamin used in sublingual supplementation (more common). * All non-methyl forms are converted by the liver to methylcobalamin. The methyl form is what they call bio-available, which means it is in a form that can be used by the cell. I did read one article that says even the methyl form needs to be deconstructed and reconstructed back into a methyl form before it can be used. In any case, it does not need to be converted by adding the methyl group to the cobalamin group. [ ] B12 DEFICIENCY There are a couple of reason why a person can become deficient in B12. Some Foods containing B12 are sardines (338%), salmon (236%), tuna (111%), cod (109%), beef (60%), yogurt (38%) and milk (23%). Deficiency can arise if you do not eat enough of these foods. Vegans and vegetarians typically do not eat these foods, which makes them especially susceptible to B12 deficiency. Another, more unknown reason, to become deficient lies in the complexity of how B12 is absorbed into the body. B12 must first be combined with Intrinsic Factor in the stomach. It then is absorbed at the end of the small intestine (the ileum). If these processes are not functioning properly, then even though a person can consume foods containing B12, the vitamin might pass through the digestive tract without being absorbed. Yet, a third reason has to do with the liver storing large amounts of B12. If the liver fails to store B12 properly, then dietary lapses in consuming B12 could cause a temporary deficiency. [ ] THE NOW FOODS COMPANY This company has earned my trust over the years. The company has excellent quality standards for the price. The reason I stick with Now Foods supplements has to do with the perfect balance between quality and price. I consider myself a nutritionist and have had experience selling nutritional supplements from many companies, so I have some knowledge of comparison between the companies and products. I don't buy everything from Now Foods, because I scrutinize every product regardless of who the manufacture is. But, I do buy most of my supplements from Now Foods because of their combination of high quality at an affordable price. Something you might not know is that this company has actually invented some processing methods that other companies now follow. I took a tour of their plant and was very impressed. [ ] A LITTLE ABOUT ME I became heavily involved in nutrition over 10 years ago. I consider myself a nutritionist because in certain areas I have more knowledge and understanding than a certified nutritionist. I have worked in a health food store where I was educated by companies that offered us training sessions. More importantly, my learning never stops. What I find lacking in the nutritionists I have met is the lack of comprehension of the knowledge along with not staying up-to-date on the latest information. A very simple example: Let's say a person is suffering from osteoporosis; a nutritionist/doctor might focus on lack of calcium or absorption of calcium as the problem. The bones don't have enough calcium, so dump more calcium in the body to fix it. Right? Not so fast. Most people get enough calcium in their daily diet, so if we take a moment to think about it, that might not be the only issue. The issue, more precisely, is most likely in the already available calcium not being built in the bone. That bone building process is called the osteoblast process, and it becomes dysfunctional with a deficiency in Vitamin K2 (i.e., K2 is vital to the normal functioning of the osteoblast process). Simple? Not really. Most customers coming into the health food store with the advice from their nutritionist/doctor tell me they never discussed Vitamin K2. A nutritionist/doctor can leave school thinking that's it for learning, so the advice you are getting from your nutritionist/doctor could be 10, 20 years old or more. That's unacceptable because nutrition is ever evolving as we learn more and more about how the body works. What motivated me to become involved in nutrition: I woke up one morning and couldn't move. Every time I tried to move I felt an overwhelming, teeth-gritting pain in my joints. It felt like my joints were frozen in place. I moved a little and my joints felt like they were breaking loose like an old car that had its breaks rusted to the disk. I would slowly move more and more to get my joints working. The pain subsided after five minutes of movement, and I would start my day. The next morning I woke up, and the same thing happened to me. And the next day, and the next. I finally said this is too much pain to handle. I don't like doctors, so my only other choice was to try and find the solution myself. I searched the internet and learned as much as I could about joint inflammation and pain. I was able to fix my joint pain by supplementing with MSM (2-4 grams a day). Then I thought, hey, if I can fix my joint pain with some more knowledge about nutrition, then what else can I learn to benefit my health. That was over 10 years ago, and I have been learning about nutrition ever since. [ ] HUMOR HEALS THE HEART: Okay, you have read this review and found it helpful, but you're on the fence as to whether it was helpful enough to deserve a helpful vote. To click or not to click. Decisions, decisions. Well, I've come up with a little humorous spin about myself as it pertains to my devotion in creating helpful reviews. I've done this using the style of the comedic legend Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) and do this also in honor and memory of his great work. The plan is to get you chuckling as you click the helpful button. Let's see - here it goes: "I tell ya, I don't get no respect -- I started writing reviews and getting helpful votes. Wow, this is cool, I said -- I checked my profile and saw that my reviewer ranking was around #8000 -- This is exciting, I said, so I wrote more reviews -- What got me even more excited was when I noticed my reviewer ranking moved up to around #7000 -- After sometime, I thought, I must be getting helpful votes because my reviewer ranking then shot up to #5028 -- The excitement was now overwhelming. It reminded me of how excited my wife got during our honeymoon when I put my clothes back on -- Alright, I said, I got so excited about writing reviews that I rolled up my sleeves, dropped everything and put ALL my time into my reviews --- Then, I checked -- my reviewer ranking said -- #GETALIFE -- No respect I tell ya. No respect at all." GIVE Reviews. This is my standard for writing reviews. [G]enuine - This is a review that is honest, trustworthy with no reason other than to help people in the Amazon family. [I]nformational - This review needs to provide information related to this product in a concise matter. [V]aluable - This review needs to provide value to the reader such that it helps him or her determine if this product is for them. [E]nlightening - This review needs to go beyond product information such that the reader learns something they did not otherwise know. ps. Don't forget to up-vote if you liked this review, or you think this review will help others
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