would like feed back on this please

[Guest guest]

DMSO and Vitamin B12

by Dr. Gregg

There have been a number of publications

reporting studies showing that breathing nitrous oxide

may destroy a person's vitamin B12. This has been

reported not only in journal articles, but has

finally been incorporated in the latest books on

nutritional supplements as well as books on

biochemistry. What first came to my mind was the

use of this gas by dentists.

Nitrous oxide, often called " laughing gas, " is

commonly used by dentists to help mitigate pain. This

could present a risk to patients, but probably

more often it presents a risk to people working in the

office who would be exposed every day. However, a

far greater potential concern came to mind

when I recently read a news article that stated

that the catalytic converters in automobiles are

creating enough nitrous oxide emissions to

contribute significantly to the greenhouse effect. It is also

known to be a very stable molecule that has a

lifetime in the atmosphere of approximately 150 years.

With cars continuing to produce it, one would

expect the concentration in the atmosphere, world

wide, to be increasing every year, and it appears

to be doing so. Is this already producing B12

deficiencies world wide, which will increase with

time? This would not be surprising because we

require (and absorb) only a few micrograms of

vitamin B12 per day and our livers store only a few

micrograms in reserve. It would take only a very

low concentration of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere

to destroy this if the destruction process is

efficient, and the individual's dietary absorption process is

inefficient. What are the potential health

consequences and what can we as individuals do to protect

against this potential problem?

I have had some personal experience which I will

discuss below that makes me believe that I have

discovered a significant fraction of the

population is B12 deficient. It is a far greater fraction that I

would have expected, since it even exists in

young people who should have healthy B12 absorption

systems. Is this the effect of the atmospheric

nitrous oxide emissions already showing up? I believe

it is a definite possibility which deserves some

serious attention.

Health Consequences of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

It is widely recognized that vitamin B12 in

combination with folic acid is essential for your body to

synthesize hemoglobin. A deficiency can result in

a particular form of anemia called pernicious

anemia. However, as we continually expand our

knowledge of biochemistry, it is being recognized

that these vitamins fill far more broad ranging

requirements. It is doubtful that all their functions been

identified, but it is reasonable to conclude that

a deficiency could result in or contribute to a broad

range of degenerative processes.

The absorption of vitamin B12 requires a highly

specialized process which tends to become less

effective with age. For this reason it is common

for doctors to give elderly people B12 shots which

result in them feeling much better and more

energetic. It is also common for the elderly to develop

numerous degenerative diseases. (They don't all

get shots.)

Does a B12 (and folic acid) deficiency contribute

to the development of many degenerative diseases

that we commonly associate with aging? It would

not surprise me at all if it does. It doesn't appear to

be so common to give vitamin B12 shots to young

people, so we may have not discovered a

deficiency that may exist. Is there a similar

deficiency in younger people resulting in a different set of

medical problems? I have reason to believe there

might be, and my only explanation for such a

surprising and unnatural development is the

growing nitrous oxide concentration in the atmosphere.

The individual solutions and my evidence that the

problem might be broad ranging over all age

groups. If a serious vitamin B12 deficiency is

being caused by automobile emissions, we certainly

want to change that process. However, this will

require changes in cars that are beyond our

individual control. So, what can we do

individually?

I am a strong believer in oral dietary

supplements. It is the best start. You can get B12 and folic acid

supplements at any health food store and follow

the directions on the label. Since vitamin B12

requires a special absorption system that may not

be healthy in a particular individual, some people

may not benefit from oral supplements.

For such people, one form of B12 is available,

called sublingual tablets, which are designed to be

held under the tongue while the B12 is absorbed

through the skin. Many may find this approach to be

advantageous. Available by prescription are B12

shots, which may have to be administered by a

doctor. I discovered another approach which I

experimented with personally and which eventually led

me to discover what I interpreted to be a very

common Vitamin B12 deficiency, independent of the

age group. This surprised and puzzled me very

much.

Back in 1994 when I was focusing on learning as

much as I could about vitamin B12, an experiment

came to mind which I decided to try on myself. I

saw a bottle of DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) on the

shelf of my health food store and remembered that

DMSO is not only absorbed directly through the

skin, but it also would carry with it any

impurities dissolved in it. This can be a serious problem if the

impurities are toxic.

However, I also realized that if I dissolved

vitamin B12 in it, it might carry it directly to my blood

stream through my skin. I tried it and the

results were dramatic for me, far greater than any impact I

had ever felt from oral or sublingual tablets. I

put some of my vitamin B12 tablets obtained at a health

food store into a two liquid ounce bottle with an

eyedropper and filled it with DMSO. It took a couple of

days for the tablets to fall apart. Once they

did, I put an eyedropper load on one arm and rubbed it in.

In approximately one hour I started to feel very

good, which was a sense of general strength and well

being. This lasted all day.

When I tried it again the next day, I got no such

feeling. I also didn't experience any bad effects either.

Since I knew that approximately one month's

requirement of B12 is stored in your liver, I reasoned

that my system was simply fully supplied with

Vitamin B12 and that I wouldn't need to use it again for

a month or so. When I tried it again a month or

so later, I got a significant boost from it again. Since

then I have continued to use it on a once every

month or so basis.

With time I decided to also add folic acid and a

multiviamin-multimineral tablet to give the solution a

broader base of nutritional support. I use a two

ounce bottle with an eyedropper, add 10mg of vitamin

B12 (ten 1000 mcg tablets), 9.6 mg of folic acid

(twelve 800 mcg tablets) and a single

multivitamin-multimineral tablet and fill it with

99.9% DMSO (leaving a bubble at the top so it can be

mixed when shaken). All ingredients were obtained

from my local health food store.

The tablets are mostly binder and take a few days

to fall apart. They don't fully dissolve, but that

doesn't seem to matter in terms of potency. I now

use this regularly on approximately a once every

month or two basis. It serves as a reasonable

mood elevator for me, and I believe it contributes

significantly to my general health. My

interpretation is I seem to become deficient in vitamin B12 even

though I take oral supplements regularly.

Over time I have told a number of other people

about this and many have chosen to try it. (I strongly

recommended that they consult their physician

first.) Of those who have chosen to make up

solutions and try it, approximately 50% have told

me that they noticed a very significant energy boost,

and this was not limited to elderly people. It

seemed to be independent of age, from age 25 and up.

Some also found a benefit if they used it as

frequently as once every two weeks and others were like

me, finding the best time span between use to be

in the once-a-month or so range. If I interpret this

to indicate B12 deficiencies, the 50% number is

much higher than I would have expected, and the

impact on young people was particularly

unexpected. Is this an indication that there is something

happening in our environment that is causing a

broad base of Vitamin B12 deficiencies? When I read

the news article about automobile exhaust and the

production of enough nitrous oxide to affect the

greenhouse effect, a light turned on. This may

the cause. If so, it is a very important issue.

It is my hope that this article will stimulate a

thorough investigation into this issue to systematically

evaluate if it is true, and result in an

organized effort towards a solution.

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

I have not used Dr. Gregg's approach, yet. It

certainly seems to be a safe alternative,

though, for those who do not want to use vitamin

B12 injections.