Is This Drug Duo STARVING Your Brain?!
Brain fog. Crushing fatigue. Mood swings. Numbness in your hands and feet.
Sound familiar?
If you’re suffering through these symptoms right now, your doctor may have told you that you’re B12-deficient.
And for seniors, being low on B12 does more than zap your energy levels—it’s a brain-destroying crisis.
Maybe you were told it was probably a genetic issue… or that you need to change your diet.
But here’s something you were probably NEVER told.
Two of the most popular drugs around may be quietly destroying your B12 levels and putting your brain at risk.
Millions of seniors are taking them right now—and doctors continue to hand them out like candy.
Unfortunately, for the 20 percent of older adults with a deficiency, eating more B12-rich foods won’t erase the problem.
Because for many adults, it’s not that you’re not getting enough B12—it’s that your body isn’t absorbing it.
That’s big trouble, because B12 is critical for keeping your brain functioning, your nerves firing, and your blood cells healthy.
And two of the most common drugs around may be starving your body and brain of B12.
The first culprit: proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). They’re used by 34.7 million people for heartburn.
The second culprit: metformin. The gold-standard diabetes drug taken by 20.4 million Americans.
Two different drugs for two common conditions, but one shared side effect. They sabotage your vitamin B12 absorption.
PPIs interfere with B12 extraction. That’s because they suppress the same stomach acid you NEED to free B12 from food.
Metformin, on the other hand, makes it more difficult for your body to absorb B12 in the small intestine.
Together, these drugs form a dangerous tag-team practically guaranteed to leave you deficient.
They’re literally robbing you of the B12 that’s so essential for supporting brain health and cognition, producing red blood cells, maintaining nervous system function, and synthesizing DNA.
These drugs were never meant for long-term use. Yet most people stay on them for years, even decades—all while their B12 levels plummet.
If you’re taking either, ask your doctor to test your B12 levels yearly. And make an exit plan for getting OFF the drugs as soon as possible.
But instead of the standard B12 test—which measures both active and inactive B12 rolled up together—request the holotranscobalamin (holoTC) test. This test measures only the active form of B12, which is the kind your cells can readily absorb.
To boost vitamin deficiencies, you can certainly start by eating more food sources of the nutrient—B12 is abundant in fish, meat, and dairy.
But when absorption is the issue, food alone won’t cut it.
Take sublingual methylcobalamin. This form of B12 dissolves under your tongue and bypasses your gut entirely, going straight into your bloodstream. It’s readily available online and in stores.
You were promised these drugs were safe. But they’re slowly starving your brain of the one nutrient it desperately needs.
Don’t wait for the damage to become permanent.
P.S. Five signs you’re missing critical B vitamins.
View Sources
Sayedali E, Yalin AE, Yalin S. Association between metformin and vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with type 2 diabetes. World J Diabetes. 2023 May 15;14(5):585-593. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i5.585. PMID: 37273250; PMCID: PMC10236989.
