Mary
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I recently started taking brewers yeast (http://www.swansonvitamins.com/swan...s-yeast-32-oz-908-grams-pwdr?otherSize=SW1562) in place of my regular B complex, and I think the brewers yeast is a better source of B vitamins. (my muscle testing indicates so and I feel fine on it)
It's a little complicated how I started doing this. I had been trying to take B1 both as thiamin HCL and benfotiamine (not at the same time), and each time it would boost my energy, but then afterwards I would lose the energy and feel wiped out.
So it appeared to be depleting something. I don't think it was potassium, I stay on top of that pretty religiously and it felt different than low potassium symptoms.
And then I read Freddd's post about refeeding syndrome and read elsewhere that hypophosphatemia is the hallmark of refeeding syndrome, so ended up drinking lots of kefir -high in phosphorus - and that helped my energy come back some, but I still was dragging, could not get back to where I started, much less the extra energy the B1 initially gave me.
So then I theorized the B1 was depleting one of my B vitamins, B2 seemed a likely culprit. However, each time I've tried to take B2 I end up feeling awful so was afraid to touch it.
And then I thought of brewers yeast and posited that it could likely have the B vitamins in their proper ratios, including B2 of course. The ratios of the Bs in all the different B complex products are totally artificial and I don't think correspond to the ratios found in foods.
So I went back on the B1 (benfotiamine this time) very carefully, got a mild energy boost, supplemented with phosphorus in yogurt and/or a phosphate supplement, and added in brewers yeast - and voila! I'm tolerating the B1 just fine (started with 35 mg. and am up to 75 mg. now, half of a 150 mg. tablet) I am so glad I can take it now because I think I need it. I got interested in B1 because of its ability to resolve lactic acidosis, which I don't have, but I do have PEM which somehow involves abnormal lactic acid production.
I plan to increase the benfotiamine gradually and just see what if any effect it has on PEM. So far no effect, but I do feel better overall - actually I have to be more careful now in a sense because I want to do more because I feel better, but I crash just as easily as before - arggghh! Oh well, I'll take what I can get!
(FWIW, I still take 1600 mcg. folate, 5000 mcg. methylcobalamin, 500 mg. pantothenic acid every other day)
It's a little complicated how I started doing this. I had been trying to take B1 both as thiamin HCL and benfotiamine (not at the same time), and each time it would boost my energy, but then afterwards I would lose the energy and feel wiped out.
So it appeared to be depleting something. I don't think it was potassium, I stay on top of that pretty religiously and it felt different than low potassium symptoms.
And then I read Freddd's post about refeeding syndrome and read elsewhere that hypophosphatemia is the hallmark of refeeding syndrome, so ended up drinking lots of kefir -high in phosphorus - and that helped my energy come back some, but I still was dragging, could not get back to where I started, much less the extra energy the B1 initially gave me.
So then I theorized the B1 was depleting one of my B vitamins, B2 seemed a likely culprit. However, each time I've tried to take B2 I end up feeling awful so was afraid to touch it.
And then I thought of brewers yeast and posited that it could likely have the B vitamins in their proper ratios, including B2 of course. The ratios of the Bs in all the different B complex products are totally artificial and I don't think correspond to the ratios found in foods.
So I went back on the B1 (benfotiamine this time) very carefully, got a mild energy boost, supplemented with phosphorus in yogurt and/or a phosphate supplement, and added in brewers yeast - and voila! I'm tolerating the B1 just fine (started with 35 mg. and am up to 75 mg. now, half of a 150 mg. tablet) I am so glad I can take it now because I think I need it. I got interested in B1 because of its ability to resolve lactic acidosis, which I don't have, but I do have PEM which somehow involves abnormal lactic acid production.
I plan to increase the benfotiamine gradually and just see what if any effect it has on PEM. So far no effect, but I do feel better overall - actually I have to be more careful now in a sense because I want to do more because I feel better, but I crash just as easily as before - arggghh! Oh well, I'll take what I can get!
(FWIW, I still take 1600 mcg. folate, 5000 mcg. methylcobalamin, 500 mg. pantothenic acid every other day)