Monday, January 9, 2012

Raw Foods Diet, B12 and Heart Surgery

I am NOT a Doctor and what I say here is my own opinion and is not expressed to treat, cure or diagnose a disease or illness and is not meant to replace or substitute for the advice of a doctor. With that said, the below is strictly my own opinion on what I would do if I had heart surgery, or had heart surgery and diabetes.This also applies is surgery is done where the ilium is effected, as medical science has proven that those who have had surgery that affected the ilium do not process synthetic B12.

If I have had heart surgery, then I would NOT recommend synthetic vitamins as my sole source of B12 UNLESS my Doctor tests my B12 levels and found them to be fine. I'd also get these levels tested every 6 months or so. Why? There is increasing evidence that points to synthetic forms of B12 is not being absorbed by those who have had heart surgery. My cousin says that he can tell when he has not had a satisfactory source of protein from a non-vegetable source. A Raw Foodist who has been a vegetarian for many years, but then went on the Raw Foods Vegan diet found that she had problems absorbing enough B12. She also has had heart surgery.

Thus, I would add Dairy to my diet to get my B12 sources, as long as I could digest milk or cheese on a daily basis. However if I were diabetic, then I'd recommend Salmon, twice a week, but then eat Raw foods otherwise, and skip the dairy. The reason is that when a group of PCMA Doctors did a study, they found that the Vegan diet reversed diabetes, but the control diet had some damage to the kidneys. However, the control diet ate fish and chicken. The other diet was the so-called "recommended" diet for those with diabetes. This diet included Beef and Chicken. Diary comes from the same animals that Beef and Chicken comes from (even though technically, egg isn't dairy). Thus, I recommend eating fish instead, if I had heart surgery and was diabetic too.

However, if you have not had heart surgery, then your body most likely will digest B12 from Synthetic sources very well. Nutritional Yeast only contains 5% of the RDA for B12, thus supplements are recommended. Also, do get your B12 levels tested by a Doctor every 6 months to a year to be sure that your body absorbs synthetic B12 properly. You will find elsewhere, at least one suggestion that Nutritional Yeast twice a week with no supplements are fine on a Vegan diet. I disagree as this gives you too little B12 per week according to the FDA recommendations. You would only get around 10% of one day's recommended B12 to last  you an entire week! Not good at all.

According to USDA.gov , 1 large Egg, the Egg whites only, contain .03 Vitamin B12, the same as 1 Cup White Raw Mushrooms. This would be the fresh Button Mushrooms. Also, it is said that vitamins B1, B3, C, E and the minerals Iron and Copper can damage the B12. This is why taking B12 supplements with Orange Juice isn't a good idea. Supplements with concentrates of B12 greater then 20 mcg will give you a better chance of absorbing the B12 given the fact that other vitamins destroy B12. 2.4 - 2.8 mcg is the recommended intake for B12 as of 1998. However, I wouldn't be too concerned about overdosing as no toxic effects have been found yet for B12.

B12 vitamin deficiency signs include fatigue, weakness, weight loss and loss of appetite, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, balance issues, confusion, depression, poor memory, dementia, constipation and of course, anemia. A deficiency can cause permanent nerve damage.

In conclusion, those who have had heart surgery should check with their doctor to be sure they aren't anemic and shouldn't rely on synthetic vitamins. Incidentally, shots for anemia is usually not recommended for those who have had heart surgery. Your doctor can tell you more about this. I'm told that it can be lethal. Fish twice a week, with a Raw Foods diet otherwise, is what I would do if diagnosed with Diabetes and have had heart surgery. Otherwise, I'd use Dairy sources to avoid killing to eat. Do see Dr. Neal Barnard for information on Vegan diet's effect on reversing Diabetes.

____________________


Why am I writing this in this way? The FDA is very particular as to who says what, and what is said. They prefer drugs as cures as they believe that no food can ever cure or reverse disease or illness. They only want you to believe that drugs are necessary for everything thing we have a drug made to cure or treat. Sorry, but I would also support the disbanning of the FDA and instead having a Food Association and then another department that is the Drug Association.

No comments:

Post a Comment