Not absorbing vitamins...any ideas?!

[Mariposa]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone had any ideas, because this is driving me a bit mad...

My nails have always been thin and brittle, breaking easily, often with white bits in them. I also have dry lips, which I am told is due to a lack of B vitamins, despite supplementing...

My nails got a bit better when I first started eating better early 2018 (I have 8-10 veg a day), but when I got food poisoning last year (and my energy got much worse), and then started treating SIBO with diet/antimicrobials, my nails got worse again. That wasn't too surprising give how restrictive the diet was. I also ate something slightly dodgy earlier this year, and it dramatically set my health back again, and I was briefly bedbound, so my gut seems to have a major problem with fighting off pathogens...

However, now I'm back on the normal diet with all the veg, SIBO is supposedly gone, but my nails are worse than ever. The gut test I had in 2018 showed no parasites, malabsorption of fat, and no candida (though I'm sure I do have candida as I get thrush so easily - basically whenever I eat any sugar, and I'd recently taken an antifungal when I took the test).

I've been doing gut healing for such a long time now, I just can't understand how I'm still not absorbing these vitamins!! Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be getting in the way?
And in a related question, does anyone know how to strengthen the gut against pathogens? I feel like I'm getting a little better as I get further away from the food incident, but knowing that I'm potentially 1 bite away from a major relapse isn't a nice feeling!

Thank you

 

[Mary]

@Mariposa - l-glutamine is supposed to be very effective for healing the gut and helping to boost the immune system. It may also help with energy. Unfortunately, the last time I took it (a few years ago) it contributed to insomnia for me. Glutamine is a precursor to both GABA and glutamate, so it can either help or hinder sleep. The only way I know of to know for sure is to try it. But if you google glutamine and gut, you'll find a ton of hits for how beneficial it is for the gut, and the immune system also.

The gut test I had in 2018 showed no parasites, malabsorption of fat,

If you are having trouble digesting fats, it's possible you may be low in stomach acid. Low stomach acid is not uncommon with ME/CFS. My digestion was screwed up for several years until I learned I needed to take betaine HCL with pepsin with meals, especially those high in protein and fat. My digestion improved so much when I added in the betaine HCL with pepsin. I still take it. And if you are low in stomach acid, then that could be why you're having trouble absorbing nutrients from your food.

A simple test you can do at home which can indicate low stomach is to dissolve 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in 8 ounces of water, and drink on an empty stomach. If you don't burp within a few minutes after doing this, it can indicate low stomach acid. My doctor told me to start taking betaine HCL with pepsin one tablet/ capsule before meals and work up gradually to where I felt "acidy" and then back off by one. So I started with one, then 2, then 3 and got up to 4 I think, and then felt "acidy" - you'll know it when you feel it! And then I went down to 3 capsules before a meal. And it worked.

 

[2manyhobbies]

Glycine is a very important amino acid for but health as well and plays well with l glutamine.As an aside glycine has a myriad of other benefits including de toxing glyphosate.

 

[Learner1]

@Mariposa - @Mary and @2manyhobbies make good suggestions. But, have you chrvkrd into oxalates? Candida and fat/nutrient malabsorption might be suggestive of oxalates.

 

[Wilma]

I always had skin, hair and nail problems. When i started to eat vegetables and fruits 5 times a day my hair and skin got much better.

 

[Learner1]

Biotin might be helpful too. Many ME/CFS patients are low in it.

 

[Remi]

My nails got better on thyroid treatment: naturally desiccated thyroid (T4/T3 combo), B complex, iron, vit D. Low stomach acid and constipation resolved as well, suspected SIBO got less. Before this, trying Betaine HCL only made my stomach worse.

Have you tested FT3? If it's not in the upper quartile when untreated, or top of range when treated, you could be hypothyroid.