NUTRITION: Hypermetabolism; The Story of Increased Speed


NUTRITION: Hypermetabolism; The Story of Increased Speed

Being Alive Newsletter, Being Alive/Los Angeles - July 1993
Jennifer Jensen, RD

Since deficiencies of vitamin B12 are routinely diagnosed along with HIV, a close look at B12 will help make my point. The fact is that normally, our bodies maintain tissue stores of vitamin B12 adequate for 3 to 7 years. It's important to note that laboratory standards for nutrient adequacy have been established, like the RDAs, for healthy Americans. They may not be, however, good indicators for nutrient sufficiency in HIV/AIDS.

Since "normal" bodies store several years' worth of vitamin B12, and persons newly-diagnosed HIV+ often turn up low in B12 (even for "normal"), then it may be that somehow, in HIV/AIDS, vitamin B12 is used at a much higher rate, or turnover. Couple this with about a dozen purely scientific reasons why the HIV-infected GI tract doesn't function normally enough to digest and absorb vitamin B12, and you have every reason to assume a deficiency, even if it doesn't show up on a lab report.

Add now, a few soothing facts: vitamin B12, in excess, hasn't been shown to be toxic, B12 plays a major role in nerve function (think neuropathy), and the vitamin, in fact, has a hand in an amazing array of our bodies' chemical reactions occurring all the time. Because vitamin B12 is so hard to process in HIV/AIDS, and the HIV gut has lost (or, is certainly prone to losing) the ability to process vitamin B12, we should be routinely supplementing with B12. But that problem of the resistant HIV gut still remains, so it is best given by injection, which bypasses the dysfunctional digestive tract. (For those who hate shots, a sub-lingual B12 dissolves under the tongue is inexpensive, and a fair alternative.)
930700
BA930720

AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Roxane Laboratories, the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1993. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

Copyright © 1993 - Beings Alive. Permission granted for noncommercial reproduction, provided that our address and phone number are included if more than short quotations are used. Subscription lists are kept confidential. Being Alive, 621 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069, Tel - 310.289.2551; FAX - 310.289.9866; Email: BeiAlive@aol.com  http://www.beingalivela.org/

This information is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1993. AEGIS.