267. B12 And Sarcopenia

Transcript Of Today's Episode

Announcer: You're listening to The Doctor Is In podcast, brought to you be MartinClinic.com. During the episode, the doctors share a lot of information. As awesome as the info may be, it is not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. It's strictly for informational purposes.

Dr.Martin: Good morning everyone. Just wanted to talk to you about a new study that came out with B12 and sarcopenia, which is muscle weakness and wasting, [00:00:30] especially in seniors. So the idea is that the study showed, again, the significance of B12. So very important. A lot of people rely on the blood test for B12 and it's almost a routine test and doctors never really talk about it too much, unless you're extremely low, or they get all uptight if you're extremely high. You know what? B12, [00:01:00] first of all, is a water soluble vitamin, so don't worry about it. It's actually very good for you. I aim high. I want people to have high levels of B12. Not low levels of B12.

Dr.Martin: Now, look at the significance of this study. They're saying that people with low levels of B12, and listen, you can have normal levels and still be low. For example, I think it's 295 in [00:01:30] blood work is considered normal. That is extremely, extremely low. You won't do well with low levels of B12. You need to have high levels of B12. So if ... And sarcopenia is muscle wasting, you need B12. Now, where is B12 found? It's found only in red meat. Okay? So don't fool yourself. Ladies, if you're eating chicken, chicken, chicken, chicken, your B12 [00:02:00] is going to be low. So don't rely on the blood test, okay, for that.

Dr.Martin: Now, the other thing is if you're taking any kind of medication, any kind of medication, I don't care if it's blood pressure medication, acid reflux medication, metformin for diabetes, any kind of medication, you should consider yourself low in B12. Okay? So especially [00:02:30] if you're taking anything for acid reflux or whatever, you're going to be low in B12. That will set you up for sarcopenia. Okay?

Dr.Martin: The other thing that I wanted to talk to you about is the fact that if you're taking any kind of antacids. So any proton pump inhibitor for acid reflux. Another study has shown that you actually [00:03:00] are very ... It's going to affect your microbiome. So guess what that stuff does? It kills your friendly bacteria. Okay? So just remember that. So B12, very, very significant. If you're on any kind of medication at all, consider yourself to be low in B12. You should take it as a supplement. Ladies, you're the ones that have the most risk of getting osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Sarcopenia [00:03:30] is muscle wasting. Wasted muscle, wasted bone. Wasted muscle, wasted bone. So just remember, B12 is a supplement that most people, especially as you get older, should take a supplement of B12 and make sure it's methylcobalamin. Make sure that you take a B12. If you're taking a B complex, that is not B12.

Dr.Martin: I know there's B12 in it, but the second you swallow B12, [00:04:00] you don't get B12. You have to take a sublingual B12 and good luck trying to get your doctor to give you a B12 shot. As a matter of fact, that's why I love the sublingual B12, because it replaces the B12 shots that doctors used to be so common in giving you. Okay? So keep sending in your questions. Thanks so much for watching.

Announcer: You've reached the end of another [00:04:30] Doctor Is In podcast, with your hosts, Dr. Martin Junior and Senior. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening.

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