Vitamin B12 - From illegal substance to "hero"

I received this email from Dr. Jonathan V. Wright's Nutrition and Healing Health e-Tips on Thursday morning:

One frightening morning in 1991, Dr. Wright's Tahoma Clinic was violently raided. Two dozen heavily armed thugs blew past the patient peacefully waiting in her wheelchair and kicked down the door.

In a nightmare scenario straight out of an action movie, clinic staff members were held at gunpoint for two hours before being ejected from the building. The gang then went on to destroy medical equipment and ransack the clinic.

These thugs weren't criminals getting their kicks. The situation was far worse. They were sent by the FDA to harass Dr. Wright, all because he was giving his patients access to...not illegal drugs, not phony prescriptions. Oh no--his clinic was attacked because he was prescribing preservative-free B vitamins!

Now, twenty years later, the mainstream press is breathlessly celebrating the very substance that was the target of the 1991 raid!

Unbelievable? Well...probably not. I mean, we are talking about the FDA here.

Late last month, The New York Times broke the story that vitamin B12--one of those very vitamins that was at the root of Dr. Wright's receptionist having a gun put to her face--is good for your brain. Imagine that!

In the article, they detail the story of a woman who, at the age of 85, started becoming more and more confused. She was diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease, and was prescribed Aricept. Her daughter says the drug made things worse, and no wonder--Aricept's (donepezil) potential side effects include depression, nervousness, changes in behavior, and...confusion (yeah, that's a head-scratcher for me, too).

Thankfully, someone thought to test her B12 levels. They found they were quite low, and her doctor started her on weekly injections. Her daughter was thrilled at how quickly her mother's condition started improving. But she had to wonder--why aren't B12 levels checked more regularly?

Excellent question! I'm sure the answer has nothing to do with Aricept being a cash cow and B12 being a lowly vitamin that isn't covered in dollar signs. No, nothing at all.

As we age, our bodies just can't absorb B12 from food as effectively as they once could. And the symptoms of B12 deficiency can easily be misdiagnosed or written off as a normal part of aging (muscle weakness, incontinence, low blood pressure, cognitive problems, and so on).

This is far from the first time I've told you about the cognitive protection offered by B-vitamins. But we certainly haven't seen such coverage in the mainstream--and of course they're acting like it's a breakthrough discovery--despite the fact that, 20 years ago, it was all pitchforks and torches for a doctor who dared prescribe B to his patients. Sheesh.

Of course, it's nice to see people spreading the word about potent natural healers, but the fact that it took so long for such a powerful vitamin to get some recognition makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

I mean, just imagine how many more people could have put the brakes on their cognitive decline without the dangerous side effects of "miracle" drugs if the mainstream would have been just a little more open to what Nature has to offer.

Instead, we've been handed dangerous drugs--or the excuse that memory loss is just a sad fact of aging--for years. Meanwhile, doctors who know the truth about Nature's healers--doctors like our own Dr. Wright--are forced into nightmarish scenarios that put their livelihood, and perhaps even their very lives, at risk.

It's not too late to harness the power of B12 and the other B-vitamins. Injections are often the best way to correct a B12 deficiency. Dr. Wright has also recommended taking a good quality "B- complex 50" or "B-complex 100" supplement (which also includes B12 in addition to the other important members of the "B" family) each day. Of course, before starting any vitamin or supplement regimen, you should consult a doctor skilled in natural medicine.

Yours in good health,

Christine O'Brien

P.S. Vitamin B12 is just one of the many natural secrets to living younger. Become one of the few "in the know," and you'll be on the fast track to looking, thinking, and feeling better than you have in YEARS. Click here to learn more.