Vitamin IV Infusions Are Not The Best Choice

Recently I have had a number of patients come into the clinic with nerve pain, tingling, numbness and even heart palpitations. They are certain that there is something seriously wrong, yet their doctor, their neurologist and Dr. Google all seem to be baffled as to why. But instead of being relieved when they find out the reason for their symptoms they are actually indignant because the reason is B vitamin deficiency and the indignant part occurs because they have been getting intravenous vitamin infusions every other week for months. So how could they be B vitamin deficient?

The answer is simple. Because IV vitamins are not the same as the vitamins you get in your food or in raw food supplements. A great example is vitamin B12 which is a popular IV infusion ingredient. B12 is tagged in the stomach with a protein known as intrinsic factor and then absorbed further down in the intestines. But along with this absorption process the body also receives folic acid or folate which is essential for nerve development of the brain and spine along with red blood cell formation. Also vitamin B12 in nature has four different forms, whereas intravenous B12 doesn’t include all forms, nor does it include folate. Instead it generally includes only a synthetic version of methylcobalamin.

Isolated synthetic forms of vitamins have never been able to provide the same effects as vitamins that are in raw whole food. In fact these synthetic forms create secondary deficiencies by forcing the body to collect all the missing pieces of the vitamin complex in order to properly utilize the isolated fragment. Often the fragment simply gets shed as unusable, causing a growing deficiency in the body and therefore the symptoms that bring these patients to my door.

Not only are these patients not receiving the nutrients they truly need, they are relying on the volume of vitamins in the blood to determine the effectiveness of the therapy. But as we all know blood volume is not the same as tissue volume. In other words, just because you have B12 in the blood at a certain level does not mean you have B12 in the cells and tissues and no one is testing for tissue volume. So it is just assumed that you will absorb the B12 and that your tissues will be able to use it.

In addition, there are a number of side effects and potential risks that come with vitamins delivered through IV. Because of their isolated synthetic forms, true absorption will be low and can cause significant amounts to build up in tissues which can cause several medical problems. Many IV treatments are contraindicated with kidney issues and heart conditions which cause a reduced ability to absorb such concentrated volumes of vitamins. But more importantly there are significant side effects which alone can account for the symptoms that many patients experience such as skin rashes, headaches, anxiety, allergies, vein inflammation and blood clots. And what about the effect on your skin from microscarring caused by the regular IV use?

Utilizing vitamin intravenous therapy may seem like the easy way to get your vitamins, but the risks, side effects and minimal benefits make it clear that food is the best medicine and the best source for your daily vitamin intake. It also reminds us that most of our symptoms can be traced back to a deficiency in nutrients. So my advice to each of these patients is to consider looking at their diet first for their best treatment.

Karen Clickner, C.C.H., is a Nationally Registered Naturopathic Physician. She provides natural evaluations and treatment at Conscious Body Natural Medicine clinics in central Massachusetts. She has been specializing in autoimmune disorders for more than 35 years. You can get more information at www.consciousbodynatmed.com