Dog tired, bone weary, worn out, bushed, just plain pooped—there are as many ways of describing fatigue as there are causes. Fatigue is the number one complaint that brings patients to doctors’ offices, and it’s one of the most difficult problems to diagnose. That’s because fatigue isn’t an illness per se. Instead, it’s a common symptom of a number of problems.
I’ve written many times about vitamin B12’s crucial role in detoxifying homocysteine, a compound linked to an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin B12 is so important in clearing homocysteine from the body that elevated serum homocysteine is now recognized as a reliable indicator of a vitamin B12 deficiency.
However, vitamin B12 is no one-shot wonder. This nutrient is a key player in the burning of fats and carbohydrates for energy, the formation of healthy red blood cells, and the maintenance of the myelin sheaths that protect nerves. Because of these diverse roles, a deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause fatigue, memory loss, and depression. Sadly, physicians often chalk these symptoms up to the inevitable effects of aging, not recognizing that their patients suffer from a treatable nutritional deficiency.
At the Whitaker Wellness Institute, we treat patients with fatigue with B12 on a regular basis. Conventional doctors may order blood tests looking for the obvious causes and suggest their patients get more sleep, perhaps even offering addictive sleeping pills. But they generally overlook this simple solution that can dramatically improve energy and quality of life.
