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X Fact
August 3, 2020
November 25, 2019
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Vegans and Vegetarians are More Vulnerable to Develop Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Vegans or vegetarians are particularly likely to be B12 deficient, but older individuals or people taking biguanides for diabetes or acid reflux (PPIs and H2-blockers) are also quite often B12 deficient. B12 is important for correct gene expression, unborn children of pregnant women with B12 deficiency are especially at risk for brain and spine malformations.

B12 deficiency used to be only associated with an autoimmune condition called Pernicious Anemia. This condition is a result of an immune destruction of a protein made in the stomach called Intrinsic Factor (or IF) or the cells that make it.

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Who Wrote This X Fact
Jonathan Bortz MD
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Jonathan’s background as a practicing diabetes specialist for 15 years and 17-year career developing nutritional prescriptive products for the pharmaceutical industry has contributed to his ability to understand nutrients, how they work and why they are important.

Over the years he has acquired broad and in-depth knowledge in minerals, essential fatty acids and other nutrients, but has special expertise in Vitamin B12 and choline metabolism. He is often asked to speak at national and international venues to articulate why B12, folate and choline are so important to gene function, brain development, liver and cardiovascular health. He applies pharmaceutical standards to nutrient science and has developed a unique ability to translate complicated concepts into simple promotional messages that resonate with practitioners and consumers. He has developed dozens of innovative nutritional products, of which many are category leaders in the US. Jonathan obtained his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand Medical School in South Africa and did his fellowship in Endocrinology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.

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