Vitamin B12 and Acid Reflux

Need help with acid reflux? Acid reflux can become a serious problem as we reach midlife. Laurie WJN found an acid reflux  vitamin B12 connection that’s been an essential part of keeping her digestive system healthy. Read more from Laurie on her blog.

I have discovered that as I get older I am forced to deal with the domino effect in healthcare. What do I mean by the domino effect? Just like a line of carefully placed dominos, when one falls it crashes into another domino, and so on.

Health care choices can often be like those dominos, where treatment for one problem causes an additional problem.

Vitamin B-12 is the latest casualty in my cascading health dominos. For the past two years I have been suffering from gastroenterological problems. Acid reflux had become a regular routine. I was rarely able to go without some antacids to get through an evening. This was particularly true if I chose to have a glass of wine or a spicy meal.

Acid Reflux

I am not alone in this problem. According to the Today Show, Americans spent $942 million dollars on over-the-counter antacids. Also, we spent a whopping 13.6 billion dollars on prescription acid suppressants last year alone.

At first I simply considered it one of those annoying effects of aging. Eventually my acid reflux became so bad that I had trouble swallowing. That’s when I decided to see a gastroenterologist.

After an upper endoscopy to make sure there was nothing structurally wrong, my doctor put me on something called a proton-pump inhibitor medicine. Despite its Stars Wars sounding name, it’s just a medicine designed to reduce the amount of acid my stomach was producing.

Thousands of people take these medicines, but long-term use can have unintended consequences, including decreases in levels of vitamin B-12 and that deficiency can cause problems.

Facts about Vitamin B12

Thousands of people take these medicines, but long-term use can have unintended consequences, including decreases in levels of vitamin B-12 and that deficiency can cause problems.

Vitamin B_-12 plays a vital role in the formation of red blood cells, as well as proper functioning and health of nerve tissue.  Fixing acid reflux can actually create a host of new problems with nerve damage and other health effects due to Vitamin B-12 deficiency.

According to one study in the journal of Neurology, elderly people with low-vitamin B₁₂ are more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage and cognitive decline.

Help with Acid Reflux

The good news is that Vitamin B-12 is pretty easy to get; foods like meat, milk, cheese and eggs are all rich in Vitamin B-12, and many cereals are fortified with it. B-12 is readily available in supplement form.

Many individuals receive regular Vitamin B-12 injections from their health care providers. If you regularly take acid reducing medicine, you should make a point to add Vitamin B-12 to your diet, and you will have one less domino to deal with.