Help! Cobalt issue

[PeterPositive]

For what it is worth I have been taking moderately high doses of active B12 for over 2 years. My cobalt level in the hair analysis has not moved very much. In the last two tests, done in 2011 and 2013, the level was below the expected range.

Lithium was also pretty low, indeed.

 

[Little Bluestem]

My lithium has been all over the place. It was undetectable on my first two tests. On my third test it was barely detectable.

I began taking 4.8 mg lithium/day and the hair level went to high normal (.005). I have had mineral levels drop when I reduced my dose after they came up, so I kept taking the same amount of lithium.

On my next test the lithium was off-the-chart high (.022). I reduced my lithium intake by 25% for about 3 months. I then hit a stressful period in my life and went back to the full dose of lithium.

On my recent test it was back to high normal (.004). I have added folate to the mix in that time, so maybe the folate is allowing the B12 to use more of the lithium. I haven't discussed these results with my dietitian yet.

 

[Indie]

I've been reading more about the whole lithium/B12 issue on Yasko's forums. Just to throw something else into the mix: according to Yasko, you want to make sure that lithium is in balance before adding b12 because b12 can deplete lithium. I think that's why Yasko recommends people not start B12 until their lithium is in balance.

 

[juniemarie]

For some strange reason lithium made me very depressed

 

[Coolie]

I found it did recharge my batteries! only kidding...

 

[Cecco]

I also recently did a hair mineral test.

And my cobalt was also off the charts, it was .038 mg% (mg per 100 g of hair) when the range is .000 - .005 mg%.

But I'm quite sure that the source is external, I'm using a shampoo that contains seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).

Seabuckthorn is high in B12 and thus high in cobalt.

Food Chem. 2017 Feb 1;216:301-8. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.08.037. Epub 2016 Aug 16.
Isolation and analysis of vitamin B12 from plant samples.
Nakos M, Pepelanova I, Beutel S, Krings U, Berger RG, Scheper T.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27596424

Since the laboratories use mass spectrometry to analyze the hair you can only see the count of the atoms, not how they are arranged in molecules.

So even if it was from an internal B12 source it would be harmless, as rich and Fredd already pointed out.

I asked the laboratory (Trace Elements, Inc. Addison, TX) if they wash the samples (because of low sodium and potassium values) and they don't wash it.