Red Magic

Meet Jenny 👩🏼. 

👋🏼 Haiii bae.

👩🏼 ❤️ 🗽.

👩🏼 lives in the West Village and works in SoHo. 

👗? Twirlin'.

👠? Struttin'.

💋? Poppin'. 

💅🏼? Tantalizin'.

👩🏼 designs the 🗽 line for a 🌎 fashion label.

💁🏼 slays. 

With fashion week fast approaching, tensions are high. 👩🏼 needs to deliver 💯 % and nothing less.

But recently, 👩🏼 has been feeling 😴 and 😲. That's why she 📱 me. 

🙍🏼 💭 ... "Why am I feeling so 💩 lately? My diet is clean: 🙅🏼 🍴 🐮 or 🐔 and I've greatly ⬇️ 🍼 and 🍳. I've been getting lots of exercise 🚴🏻 and 🏊🏻. I'm taking a 💊 of 5,000 Units of Vitamin D daily because of lack of ☀️ during the 🌬 ❄️ ⛄️. What's wrong with me?! 😒."

So, I 💼 to Jenny's 🏠. We had a detailed discussion about her symptoms, nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle. I drew her blood and 📬 the samples to the 🏥. In 48 🕓, her 📩 arrived.

The results: 👩🏼 was lacking a vitamin in her diet.

👩🏼 exclaimed, "Hold up ✋🏼 Doctor K. I eat a whole 🌱 based diet full of plump 🍑, juicy 🍉, midnight 🍆, sweet sweet 🍠 and red hot 🌶. How am I lacking a vitamin in the 🌱 based diet that you recommend?"

Fair point 👩🏼. Optimal nutrition for a human is a whole 🌱 based diet, while 🚫 🍴 those 🐷 and 🐄 and 🐣 and their milks. Unfortunately, there is one vitamin that is ONLY found in animal products like 🐮 and 🐔 and 🐟 and 🍳 and 🍼 and 🧀.

Vitamin B12 aka Cobalamin. Fun facts about B12 include:

  • The only vitamin which contains a metal [Cobalt]

  • Water-soluble (Unlike fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K)

  • Stored in the liver

  • Must be acquired through the diet

Although the vitamin is found in animal products, 🐶 🐻 🐢 🐘 🦀 are unable to produce Vitamin B12 on their own 😞; #EvolutionarilyBasic.

So where does B12 come from? Critters so tiny you'd need a 🔬. Only bacteria 👾 are able to synthesize the vitamin.

🐶 🐻 🐢 🐘 🦀 consume the vitamin directly from their bacterial environment or by eating other animals which have B12 stores.

Humans produce B12 supplements by harnessing 👾 machinery to synthesize the vitamin.

A lack of this vitamin can produce a range of undesirable symptoms such as: fatigue, shortness of breath, impaired concentration, depression, and numbness in the fingers and toes.

Because Vitamin B12 is only found in animal sources, people who 👅🌱 and especially people who 👅🌱and🙅🏼🍼 🍳 are at risk of Vitamin B12 deficiency. Vegetarians and vegans should definitely supplement.

The supplement options are a daily 💊 or monthly 💉. Oral supplementation requires the digestive tract to digest and absorb the vitamin, whereas the injectable form bypasses the intestine and delivers 💯 % of the vitamin to the body. This is Red Magic.

B12 is considered Red Magic because:

  1. It's red in color. The red color comes from the chemical structure of a corrin ring and cobalt ion (graphic below). 

  2. Every single cell in the body requires it, especially the brain, nervous system and red blood cells like this guy 👹. The 👹 is a vehicle for oxygen transport from the lungs to cells throughout the body. A lack of B12 can lead to anemia and shortness of breath 😶.

  3. You can't take too much. The governing nutritional bodies of the 🇺🇸 and 🇪🇺 place no limit [Tolerable Upper Intake Level] on the amount of B12 than can be consumed daily. In other words, overdose is impossible. B12 can only benefit you; any excess is simply excreted in the urine because the vitamin is water-soluble. Magic ✨!

The complex structure of Vitamin B12 is based on a corrin ring with cobalt, which gives the vitamin a dark red, cherry color. From MikeBlaber.org

The complex structure of Vitamin B12 is based on a corrin ring with cobalt, which gives the vitamin a dark red, cherry color. From MikeBlaber.org

 

👩🏼 🤔 "Is B12 really that important?"

Yes, 👩🏼! Pay attention; this is SO important. Your brain and nerves need B12. Your red blood cells need B12. Every single cell in your body requires B12 in order to replicate its DNA. B12 also plays a crucial role in fat metabolism. Are you listening 👩🏼? Vitamin B12 is totes crucial!

The astute 👩🏼 pondered, "Beside vegetarians and vegans, who else is at risk of a Vitamin B12 deficiency?"

Good question Jenny. The 👴🏻 👵🏻 and anyone with impaired intestinal absorption (e.g. Crohn's, pancreatic disease, after gastric bypass surgery) are at increased risk. Also, anyone taking these 💊 is at risk:

H2-Blockers: Block acid secretion in the stomach. E.g.: famotidine [Pepcid] & ranitidine [Zantac]. Stomach acid is essential to processing and absorbing B12 from animal sources.

Proton Pump Inhibitors [PPI]: Even more potent blockers of acid secretion than H2-blockers. E.g.: omeprazole [Prilosec] and esomeprazole [Nexium].

Metformin: Oral medication used to treat diabetes.

🙆🏼 realized, "Ohhhh! I take Nexium! This must be making my B12 deficiency even worse 😱 😤 🙄." 

👩🏼 is so 🤓. 👏🏼.

🙋🏼 "Alright already, gimme that #RedMagic! I want to feel 😊 and 😜 and 😎 and 🤗!"

👩🏼 rolls up her sleeve and receives a quick injection into her shoulder. Easy 👌🏼. See you next month 👩🏼!

 

Having a 💉 is like putting ⛽️ in your 🚙 or like riding a 🦄 over a 🌈 or like being launched on a 🚀. Before you know it, you'll feel on top of the 🌎.

 

Complimentary 💉 with your visit this month. 

So you feel 🙆🏼 💅🏼 💪🏼 🌷 👍🏼 ✨ 💯.

You're welcome 😉. 

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