3044: Pernicious Anemia and Shots vs Supplements - The Importance of the B12 Vitamin

Optimal Health Daily - Fitness and Nutrition

Optimal Living Daily LLC

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Nutrition

4.4 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 11 July 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com. Episode 3044: Dr. Neal Malik explains how pernicious anemia, an autoimmune condition, prevents proper absorption of vitamin B12, leading to serious health risks if untreated. While high-dose oral supplements may help in certain cases, he emphasizes that B12 injections are typically the most reliable way to manage the condition and protect red blood cell and nerve health. Quotes to ponder: "Pernicious anemia is actually a type of autoimmune condition." "Most studies do find that injections are more effective." "Unfortunately, there is no cure for pernicious anemia, but it can be well-managed with B12 supplements." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, and I'm Dr. Neil Malick.
0:05.0	Hey there, happy Friday, and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer
0:10.9	your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and lots more. You send in the questions,
0:16.7	and I answer them for you. Oh, and if you do send in a question and you're in the U.S.,
0:21.3	we'll mail you a copy of our hardcover workbook. If you're outside of the U.S., we'll email you
0:26.9	a PDF version. Now, what's the easiest way to send me a question? Just email it to health
0:33.6	at oldiepodcast.com. All right, and with that, let's hear today's question as we optimize
0:40.1	your life. Today's question came via email. Charlene writes, hello, I have a question about pernicious
0:50.7	anemia. I have had pernicious anemia for several years. I get a B-12 shot once a
0:56.2	month. During COVID, I took a B-12 supplement instead of going to get the shot at my doctor's office.
1:02.7	I'm wondering if the supplement is as effective as the B-12 shot. Thank you so much for taking the time
1:09.0	to send in your question, Charlene. I'm so sorry to hear about your pernicious anemia diagnosis.
1:14.0	So I'm going to start by talking about what pernicious anemia is and then get into the specifics
1:19.4	about vitamin B12.
1:21.4	Now, if someone is listening to this and is like, I don't have pernicious anemia, I don't
1:25.7	know what it is, so I'm just going to stop listening.
1:28.5	I promise you'll still get a lot out of this, because I'm going to talk about B-12 and its
1:32.9	importance in other terms, too. But again, let me start with what pernicious anemia actually is.
1:39.3	This is the type of autoimmune condition. Now, an autoimmune condition means that for some reason, the body
1:45.6	attacks its own healthy cells. In those with pernicious anemia, the body's attacking cells that
1:51.8	help create a specific substance in the stomach. That substance is called intrinsic factor.
1:59.0	Intrinsic factor helps the body absorb vitamin B12. Okay, so let's summarize.
	...

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