Why You Need Vitamin B12: Functions and Benefits Explained

As a nutritionist you get always surprised when something that you recommended to one of your clients did exactly what your client told you. Sometimes I think they might be a placebo effect when the improvement is so quick, but I must admit that it is possible.

One of my clients, a while back, said that vitamin B12 sublingual made a huge difference from the moment they took it. Now I thought, well the research mention that it might take few weeks to see a big improvement with sublingual or even with B12 injections, which by the way, sublingual and injections seems to have the same quick effect, so I now might choose the sublingual instead.

I had a series of little things recently, which started from my digestions of food, not as noticeable that I thought of a problem, as everything seems to be ok. I did have a bit of stress due to my dog passed away this year, but I did not think that stress and sadness would turn into a healthy issue, even though I should know better. As usual as therapist we think we are invincible and always ok.

Anyway, I did a good liver detox, digestions make over, food and diet a bit healthier than before (pretty healthy, already), a bit more soups and stew, with plenty of vegetables, nutritious proteins and good fats, and plenty of liver detox support supplements. That made my digestions and liver very, very happy. Now due to the liver and digestions problems, my immune system went down, with more viral infections that I usually have.

The last one is the one that is going around, the sore throat and flu. I manage it again with lots of vitamin C and other immune support. But still could not shift it, even with steam and lots of throat support and gargles with salt and water, and more, it seems my body immunity did not fight back quickly enough.

At some point I was much better, but still at night I would have this irritate cough and a sensation that a frog was stuck in my throat, I decide to go and buy some oregano to support my immune system with the vitamin C and a multi vitamin support. I could not find the oregano but for some nutritional instinct I decided to buy a sublingual Vitamin B12. I took 2 sachets of it of a total of about 500 microgram and within less than 10 minutes my irritate frog went completely, to my amazement, my mucus was loose and little. I thought was only my imagination, but did not have any cough at night and woke up still ok. I feel myself again. Now ideally would want to check my B12, but I am not vegetarian and I thought that might be normal. Eventually I will but could be that is going to be private, as the NHS right now is a bit annoying for appointments.

I looked more into the B12, and in reality, the fact that I had a stomach issue, due to low stomach acid, might have stopped the intrinsic factor and the R factor to transport my B12 into the cells.

Now I will explain a bit more about the absorption, and function of the B12 in more details, for everyone to understand the reason why everyone, from vegan to meat eaters can be low in B12, even though B12 is stored for years, if it is not transported into the cells, it is like you have none.

B12, unlike any other water B vitamins that are excreted every few hours from your body, is stored in the liver, with vitamin D, E and A.

Sources of vitamin B12 are only from animal products, any vegetarian source is by contact with animal or cross contamination or fortified vegetarian food, included cereals. Now the source of fortified food depends on the quality and the form of the B12.

B12 has a corrin nucleus and is part of the groups called corrinoids. This is a macrocyclic ring made of four reduced pyrrole rings linked together, this will carry an atom of cobalt, hence quite often you will see the name of the B12 as cyanocobalamin, hydrocobalamin, and Methylcobalamin and more. The methylcobalamin are the active form as coenzymes for many functions in the body.

Bioavailability of B12 can be impaired by vitamin C, so if you take B12 with a high or low dosage of vitamin C together at the same time or up to 1 hour after meal, such as 500mg, you stop from the B12 to work and be absorbed.

Digestion, absorption, transport and storage of vitamin B12:

Once the B12 is ingested from food, it needs to be released from the enzyme pepsin in the stomach (the stomach acid needs to be working well for the pepsin to be secreted, low stomach acid, will impair the secretion of pepsin and hence, B12 is not going to be released from the food, even if you are a meat eaters or eggs eater).

Also with stress, there is no signal to the stomach to release and activate pepsin to digest the proteins. The vagal nerve, is involved in the digestion process, too much into stress mode or sympathetic mode, will stop your full and healthy digestion, hence my stress or sadness caused by the loss of a dog, who was very dear to me, caused my stress, which caused my low stomach acid, which caused my B12 malfunction, which caused my immunity to go down, and so forth. Connecting the dots……

Once B12 is released from the food ingested, it needs two proteins for working. One is the intrinsic factor (IF) and the other is the R proteins. The IF is again made by the gastric cells (made again with a good and healthy stomach acid). IF is made and released by the stomach during a healthy digestion and works in the small intestine. The R proteins are everywhere in the body fluids, and have a high affinity for cobalamin. R will pick up the free cobalamin and transport it to the duodenum, first part of the small intestine, where the pancreatic juices will release the B12 again, unless you have a pancreatic insufficiency, (low enzyme activity) and again the B12 will not be released into the small intestine for transport into the blood stream. Again, if something goes wrong no B12.

In the proximal small intestine, the IF will pick up the freed B12 and transport it to the ileum, where receptors for B12 will wait for it to be transported into the blood stream. IF can transport B12 through the entire ileum and receptors are everywhere in the small intestine.

It seems that calcium ions is an essential mineral for the absorption of B12 into the blood stream.

From normal ingestion of food with B12, the process of absorption might take 3 to 4 hours before is in the blood stream.

As I mentioned before, B12 is the only one that can be stored in the liver for a long time and even years, and it is also found in small amount in kidneys, spleen, bone, heart and brain.

Now if children are vegan from weaning, and they are not given extra B12 supplementation from early age, there is a possibility that the child will be low in B12, which possible serious issues with their growth.

Some of the Function of B12:

  • Co-enzyme for the conversion of homocysteine into methionine.
  • Essential for the maintenance of the protective sheath surrounding nerves, hence, essential for the good function of the nervous system.
  • Has a key role for the making of a healthy red blood cell, hence essential for circulation and healthy blood.
  • Is a co-enzyme for one of the steps in making the ATP, the energy fuel for your cells, in the Kreb cycle, the energy nuclear power, in the mitochondria (where fuel for your body is formed, the CoA mutase).
  • It is part of the making of the serotonin in your body, the feeling good neurotransmitter, hence important for the health of the brain and mood.
  • Essential vitamin for making and repairing of DNA. This is essential for your life, really. The methylation part is an essential step for the DNA building block and the repair of damaged DNA. Without a sufficient B12, the DNA building and repair will be severely disrupted.
  • Supports also the normal function of the immune system. This is done by promoting white blood cells maturation and formation, as well as synthesis of division and replication of the DNA for the immune system.
  • Essential during pregnancy to prevent birth defect, with folate, this promotes cells division and DNA formation of the baby.
  • Essential for the health of the bones, through the synthesis of taurine, an amino acid essential for bone formation. There is also a positive correlation with good amount of B12 function and bone density.
  •  B12 for the eyes, is essential for the myelin sheath of the eyes, reduces dry eyes and reduction of oxidative stress, as well as inflammation.

Tests for B12 deficiency due to IF deficiency is a full blood count, which will measure serum B12 and some active B12.

An anti-intrinsic factor antibody test can be suggested for pernicious anaemia (autoimmune disease) or megaloblastic anaemia (big red blood cell).

Other tests are also recommended with folate as well.

As you have seen from the B12 ingestion, absorption, transportation and life of the B12, this is not just another B vitamin, is an essential vitamin for your health and life.

If you are vegan or you have children that are also vegan, do consider for life to have B12 sublingual supplementation, to make sure that your children will grow well without health issues, and you, yourself, is healthy.

Even as a meat eaters, if you have low stomach acid, or you are taking medication to reduce your stomach acid, if you had a gastric bypass, or you have any issues with digesting your food, pancreatic issues, bile issue, or constant stress, cannot sleep due to stress, have or had a bereavement, moved houses, or changed your lifestyle or you are the last person that you think about, due to overwhelming responsibility, than think about testing for B12 or even take for a while a sublingual B12 with folate if possible.

If you are pregnant and vegan, do take the vitamin, sublingual, as you have seen the long process and possible problems that the normal digestive journey of the B12 is, and possibly in a normal tablet form, will not reach the blood stream due to any of the digestive system problems.

Increasing breastmilk suggestions

Breastmilk as we all know is the best for the baby, and if you cannot breastfeed you do the next best thing and supply them what is possible, and that is amazing now days.

If you have problems with your baby latching though, breastfeeding can be quite painful or upsetting, and most mum can give up because of that.

If you have already consulted a breastfeeding specialist and nothing as changed, and your baby does not have any tie restrictions, then seeing a craniosacral therapist can make a huge difference in the tightness of the mouth and the entire fascia.

Your baby’s birth and your labour, might have been normal and vaginal, and still during gestation, your baby might have been stuck in one position on your bones or in the canal before birth for many hours. That might cause some contraction of the fascia, that might stop your baby stretching enough and relax enough, with the consequences of colics, reflux, constant crying, sleeping little, and breastfeeding problems.

If your baby had to have a C-section and or forceps and or ventouse, then the above restrictions are probably there. These restrictions and unbalances will create a problem with the palate, the suckling reflex and the vagal reflex, leading to poor latching, and hence less milk supply, due to poor suckling reflex.

Now even with a big supply from the mother, the baby can have a poor suckling reflex, which is essential for later on for eating and swallowing food, as well as speech.

The palate might be too high and narrow, or the mouth too tight, as well as the tongue not moving in all directions to stimulate their digestive system and opening of the digestive system valves.

click here for things to do to increase the milk supply, and if nothing helps, do see a craniosacral therapist for a gentle but powerful reset of your baby fascia. I would also recommend that the mother has a session or two, with the baby. It is very much worth every penny.

Craniosacral therapy for babies and mothers trauma, can have a massive positive effect on both mother and baby within 2 to 3 sessions. A bit more if the trauma was a bit more severe.

Calcium during pregnancy and breastfeeding

During pregnancy, calcium is an important minerals for mothers and babies, and the amount required goes up quite a bit, and without uploading the intake, the mother is the one that will suffer from the consequences, and if really low, the baby will too. For type of dietary intake and preference the amount is 1200 mg a day. Here is the list of how you can get it. Download it on your phone in pdf so that you have it with you at all time:

click here to download pdf file

If you need more information about nutrition in pregnancy and craniosacral therapy in pregnancy, contact me on my phone or email me click here

For adults who are still unsure of craniosacral therapy does.

Vagal nerve balancing with craniosacral therapy! North London clinics, N15 6HA and Life By Margot
The polyvagal nerve is part of the nervous system, and the nervous system is part of the brain that will give signal when things are ok and when they are not. In some cases, adults with childhood trauma can all of the sudden experience stress related episodes with no recollection of when and where that happens. For most people the talking therapy will be good when they know what the problem or issue are, and often they are resolved. But some stress response or trauma will not be reached just by the conscious mind, or it will take months or even years before you can reach it.
Often traumas from childhood are stored in our body or even cells, and those unconscious traumas can be triggered at any time in the life of the adults. Quite often with a body injury or illness. Craniosacral therapy allows the body system to feel safe enough to show the trauma, big or small, at the time that the person is ready to deal with, usually when they feel safe enough to share or deal with whatever emotion is attached to that trauma. With mindfulness meditation and heart meditation, the person has a tool to be able to connect with their heart and deal with whatever comes up in a loving space. My work is to connect to my heart and the person heart to reach a stillness where anything is possible, and any healing is allowed to happen in a loving experience. Craniosacral therapy does not force any trauma out without the person being ready. That is the magical part of this wonderful therapy.

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I have also observed people’s lives changing in better, after few sessions of CST. Things such meeting the right person for them, and getting married, or travelling around the world, for a break, or changing a job to a better career, and much more healing! I have seen amazing healing and experience amazing transformation and transmutation of lives, from Heaven and Earth connections of any type of religion or atheism, All in one and one in All healing power together for the greatest good. In my clinics there are only humans and humanity healing!

Healing of the mind, body and soul!

The Journey to Self-healing, becoming fearless, articles by Maria Esposito BSc Hons

This article was written in 2021. Still very valid for the situation that is now around us, and not only for therapists, it is essential for each and everyone of us.

The Fulcrum, Issue 84 September 2021 by Maria Esposito

“When I first started working with a heart-centred connection, my practice was transformed. I found that working from the heart enabled me to connect with my higher self and strengthen my intuition. Clients commented on the treatment experience and the more I nurtured my heart connection, the more effective my work became.

Yet, developing heart connection was not easy or straightforward. There were times when the connection was open and grounded, spacious and flowing. Other times I resonated with painful emotions and experiences. Questioning why this could be so led me to recognise my own emotional pain and unconscious fears and accept my need to heal.

The self-healing journey takes many forms and different paths. Each one of us will need to find the best way to acknowledge, recognise and heal from our emotional pain and fear. Here, I will share my own journey, experiences and observations before recommending useful tools and techniques that may support self-healing.

A Healing Dynamic

From personal experience and from talking with others, I believe that quite often therapists attract clients who have experienced similar pain. It seems a case of ‘like attracts like’ and the resulting dynamic seeks resolution for both client and therapist.

Around ten years ago, clients began coming to me with symptoms and experiences rooted in childhood pain and trauma. I found that I often resonated with their emotional pain and, as I began to explore this, I realised that I carried similar experiences. My acknowledgement and awareness of this allowed space for my own early trauma and, as the memories returned, I accepted that I too needed healing.

Acknowledgement was the beginning of my own healing journey and as it unfolded I recognised and accepted the fear that had been part of my life since early childhood.

Freedom From Fear

During the past ten years of treating clients, including babies and parents, and myself, I have become aware that fear is one of the most prevalent emotions, often hiding behind others. Fear can stem from emotional or physical pain that we have suffered in the past. It can be unconscious, buried so deeply that it influences our thoughts, feelings and actions without us really being aware of it.

The more I healed the more my true self emerged

Feelings of anger, deep anxiety, depression and overwhelm, and behaviours like lashing out, withdrawing, addiction and self-harm, can all stem from fear. They can stem from childhood experiences, our early relationships, our upbringing, our education, our society, from the way we were taught to deal or not to deal with emotions, and be triggered by the things we watch, books that we read, from family, friends, colleagues or people we admire.

Expressions of fear are seen now more than ever. For the past year and half of the Covid-19 pandemic, global fear of the unknown and the stress of uncertainty has impacted many lives, including our own. Throughout, fear and worry about the mental and physical health of loved ones and friends, about jobs and finances, have been pervasive. In some, isolation from and/or loss of loved ones have left deep emotional trauma. In others, fear and worry converted into anger and frustration with devastating impact for partners and families. These experiences may impact not just the people directly affected but also future generations.

The Question is How Do We Move Forward, Individually and Collectively?

I grew up with parents who were born at the time of the second world war and fear was a constant factor in their lives; fear of not getting enough food, fear of getting hurt, fear of not having enough money to support the family.

In myself, I believe that this legacy of fear manifested primarily as self-reliance. I became a ‘doer’, generally resilient and solutions oriented when dealing with my worries, and proactive about controlling my life and pursuing my interests in health and healing without dependence on others. However, as I shared in my previous article “Transformation’ (Issue 82), it wasn’t until I started my CST training that I realised how ungrounded I was, and how easily fears and worries unbalanced me.

So, part of my healing journey has been to free myself of inherited and acquired fears, unconscious and conscious. The more I healed the more my true self emerged – a more grounded and positive individual, searching for ways to deal with life and emotions. I supported this new self-awareness with personal craniosacral sessions, energy healing, and meditation, ultimately leading to a different level of being that has enabled me to move forward with a greater sense of energy, direction and focus.

As I continued to develop my craniosacral and intuitive practice, and practised grounding and heart-connection, I appreciated how much better and happier I felt without anxiety. I noticed that the more I healed, the less drama, in the form of books, films or news, appealed to me and I decided to stop drawing fears from outside sources to myself.

Now, after fearful or worrying situations arise, it takes less time to get back to feeling balanced and centred. Read the entire article on the Fulcrum here

The Therapist Within, workshop for complementary therapists

This is an online workshop starting on 2nd of November 2025

6 to 7 hours of CPD personal development

Starts at 9.30am finishes about 4.30pm

We are humans, before being therapists, and as human, we have our own internal battle, or little conflict for something or another. We also need some inner resources, at times, at home or with our clients, during whatever therapy we do.

I know that I found myself at times, with small internal conflict, and even though I have the answer, sometimes I need the help from the another person perspective. And sometimes, it does not have anything to do with therapy at all.

I am a Nutritionist, Craniosacral Therapist NLP health coach and practitioner, and I love going to the NLP top ups, as a reminder that we all have an inner wisdom within us, we just need a bit of guidance to find it! And we are our best guide, if we listen carefully to our inner Therapist.

Hence, after another long day of practising few simple tools with the NLP group, I decided to pass on some of the wisdom for other therapist, who need at times, reconnect to their inner wisdom, for themselves and for their client.

Specifically, I work with craniosacral therapists, but this particular workshop, can be expanded to other therapists. And as you may know, the more internal peace we have within ourselves, the better listener we will be for our clients, including babies and children if you work with them with craniosacral therapy!

In this workshop, we will use few NLP tools for particular issues, and other NLP tools might be used as well if appropriate.

  • 1st one, will be the internal conflict tool (any internal conflict, small or big). This is an amazing discovery of how the internal conflict can create a little internal war within ourselves, if not addressed. Even for small decision, such as choosing to do something or not do it, or choosing a pair of shoes, over another.
  • 2nd tool, will be looking at goals/dreams that we have, and how our unconscious things we deal with them. Few NLP questioning of tools to trick our mind into our real thoughts and bloackages.
  • 3rd tool will be anchoring good positive feelings and state of mind, that we can recall at any time.
  • 4th is to get motivated for something that we want to do
  • Grounding meditations and others from mindfulness tool meditation
  • Clearing our aura and space meditation
  • Possible other NLP tools will be added to the list

Price for the workshop is 85 pounds, paid at booking via bank transfer. The receipt will be emailed to you after.

Maria Esposito TSB code 308472 account 24603860. Email me if you make this payment to gandgmariaesp@yahoo.c.uk

Short Chain Fatty acid for your intestinal tract health

As Nutritionist, we have known for a long time, and at least I have since my University training more than 26 years ago. The health of the gut is very much an essential part of all our health, including the brain, hence the mental health of a person. It starts from birth, from picking up your mum’s bacteria, if it was a natural birth, and if not, from being breastfed, and if not from all around you. Obviously, from a natural birth (not water birth as such, as still is a doubt if the bacteria gets washed out with the water). In natural birth though again, depends on your mum’s vaginal bacteria. Sometimes I recommend to give friendly bacteria to babies, when mum’s might not have supported their friendly bacteria through the diet, or if they have taken antibiotics for any reason or another while pregnant.

Now, we all have our unique microbiome and hence that is what it will grow from the start. And the we know that the first 1000 days of life (Swansey study), are the most important for populating your babies and toddler microbiome. If for any reason, such as antibiotics have been given or taken during pregnancy or lactation, your baby has been born through a C-section, then, it is possible that instead of the good bacteria, the more non-commensal bacteria that could do more harm than go, will thrive.

So the best next thing that you can do for your baby is giving some Bifidus baby infantis to support the proliferation of their good microbiome, and stop the growth of yeast or other non commensal bacteria.

Babies have more Bifidus bacteria, which feed on either the mother’s breastmilk or bottle fed milk. From 6 months, after you start adding more food, the Bifidus that feeds on milk, start to go down and more of the lactobacillus and other good bacteria start to grow. Now, it depends on how you start your baby diet, if you start on more sugary foods, such as fruits, then, the yeast bacteria can overgrow, and your baby might start getting the taste buds for sweet. If you start on more vegetables, than, the bacteria that feeds on vegetables grow and are better. Also in this way, your baby will not crave more of the sugary foods later on.

There are lots of weaning thoughts and diet out there, just remember, that your baby does not have teeth and the digestive system is not fully developed till the age of 14 years! Yes 14 years, for the liver, the kidney and the entire intestinal tract is formed. So make sure that more of the good food is ingested than the rubbish food. It starts from you and when they are weaning as well. Click here to read what I suggests, and you can make up your mind of what is the best for your baby as well. Ask your mum, if you turned out really healthy, what she weaned you first!

To feed more of the good microbiome, such as the acidophilus and Bifidus bacteria, they need to feed on food that they can eat. The by product or the elimination of their feeding, is fuel for the repair of the intestinal tract.

The intestinal tract, needs repairing every 3 days or so. So they need food every day, to do you a lot of good.

And as we know the healthier the intestinal tract is, the healthier your mental status! Lots and lots of research on this now.

What food does increase the short chain fatty acid (SCFA), which is the food that the bacteria eat to repair your intestinal tract. The SCFA are essential for the repair of the intestinal tract, as well as, reducing inflammation, support the integration of the gut barrier, preventing undigested food to enter the blood stream and hence reducing the chance of allergic reaction to normal food, and much more.

All in fermented food:

Butyrate in oils, butters and fats, beans, legumes, fruits and vegetables, milk, onion, garlic, avocadoes etc, whole grain fibers increase short chain fatty acids, such as brown rice, quinoa, apples, bananas, broccoli, carrots, spinach kale, kiwi, mushrooms, any green leafy vegetables, dandelion greens, endive and more. (and yes, some foods are off in the Fodmap diet)

Acetate, all fibers, but more with apples, pineapples, strawberries, berries, grapes oranges

Propionate in all the above plus pears, oat and barley, brown rice, legumes, chia seeds, chicory root, asparagus.

Whenever you or your baby, toddler, child, teenager, needs to take antibiotics for any reason, take some really good friendly bacteria, such as Bifidus and a combination of lactobacillus, so that they fill the gap that has been left by your good dead bacteria, till your own good microbiome, grows back again. The probiotics that you buy might stop growing after two months, but they saved the seat for your own microbiome to regrow after the antibiotics.

If you are taking any medication, is possible that you need to support your intestinal bacteria with the bacteria that you buy or you can make your own kefir, if you are good at doing that. If you are an Athlete, you need to support your gut microbiome with extra microbiome, as excessive exercise will cause inflammation and leads to a reduce good microbiome.

If you frequently need to take anti-inflammatory, also you need to support your intestinal tract, as well as if you take steroids for any reasons, or extra hormones, such as in HRT.

Always promote your good bacteria with the food that contain the SCFA above and you will feel much better than anybody else that does not support their intestinal microbiome!

Read my Book, “Clinical experience of IBS” by Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) find it on amazon.co.uk

Being present, aligned and grounded

There are a lot of ways to be presents, through mindfulness meditation, through breathwork, through normal breathing, through exercise of any kind, including walking. All of them, do not align you into who you are and what your purpose in life is. I found that in the past 14 years, thanks to craniosacral therapy/healing, that I have been doing and having it myself, that I found that alignment and healing your inner self, and get back to yourself, is more than just being present.

Being present is the first step of many. I found that with craniosacral therapy/healing, for myself and the many hundreds of people I have had the honour to support through their journey of getting to connect to their inner self and healing themselves through the craniosacral therapy, is doing a lot of hundreds steps!

Being aligned with yourself, is getting rid of other people expectation of yourself, as well as the social expectation and what other people think you need to be and do, and get to your own way of wanted to be and do. This is a journey, starting from getting rid of the past pain, possible trauma, and much more. Understanding who you are and change yourself towards what your potential is! Start your journey now, taking 1 step at the time towards your inner self!

I work with a combination of NLP to find your way of support that you have in you to deal with different emotions and feelings!

Understanding your mind flexibility and more!

Dysautonomia, or part of your autonomic nervous system not working well. What is it?

Now I am not sure if anyone has heard of the term Dysautonomia. This is not a medical term, but the problems do exist. Now when withing a year a term comes up from two different people, than I think is something. So, I researched it a bit and the following are what I found out. Now, some of the symptoms can be related to many things, so do not take this as the bible, but if you have some of the symptoms, and the doctors cannot find anything at all, it is worth to see a neurologist and see what they say. Also, there might be a solution, of having high B vitamins, and particularly the B1 of the fat-soluble form, which is synthetic but has worked for a colleague. I would also try the high dosage of water soluble one to see if it helps. The Vagal nerve is part of the ANS and it is connected to the major organs, such as the heart, lungs, digestive system and more. The vagal nerve when is working well, allows the person to breathe, properly, the heart rate is at a normal relaxing rate, the digestive system works well and the person can sleep well as well. When the Vagal Nerve which is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is in turn part of the ANS, is turned off, due to his counter part the Sympathetic Nervous System, which is the one that makes you run from your danger, or in this case Stress of everyday life, than you might have a constant high heart rate, sleep poorly, have many problems of the digestive system, either constipation as the stools dry up more, or diarrhoea as the body is trying to empty itself before running.

Dysautonomia seems to have connections with the some of the Vagal Nerve malfunctions. It seems that can also occur after a virus, and it seems to be connected to COVID or any other major viruses.

If the person immune system has been down, due to possible deficiency of B vitamins or other nutrients, than everything else will not work well. If you do not know B vitamins are the water-soluble vitamins that are essential for making the energy in your body to make everything, including compounds and proteins for the immune system, proteins to create enzymes for digestions and repair of the body, organs, muscles and nerves. B vitamins are not the only essential nutrient needed, our body also need minerals fat and amino acid.

Now in a time that is a trend to do some two days fasting, with 12 fasting or more every day.

With a time that our soil has less minerals, our food contains even less of the nutrients that we need, with a time that there is more crap available to buy with the click of the button and so on, well no wonder that our body is shutting down.

I hear teenagers that skip their breakfast as they are too tired to eat in the morning, they skip their lunch, as they do not have time for that at school, and they sometimes skip dinner, as they do not feel well enough to eat. So, sugar for the energy, fizzy drinks, coca cola, red bull, chips for quick fix of the body requesting some food for the organs and the brain.

For some kids and people, they take vitamins and minerals to help them cope, their parents cook well and are conscious of good healthy foods. For many that is not the case, so they are tired at school, they are tired at home, they are tired when they wake up in the morning after a 10-hour sleep!

Coming back to dysautonomia, where part of the ANS shuts down, without having any prior genetic disorder, what are the symptoms?

Just bear in mind that the following symptoms could be caused by other reasons:

  • Drop in blood pressure, causing dizziness or fainting
  • Fast or slow heart rate or both at the times in the same day
  • Heat like you are having a menopausal flush, and then cold all of the sudden without being in menopause or being a woman!
  • Nausea or gastrointestinal problems
  • Trouble breathing or swallowing
  • Urinary dysfunction
  • Vision problems
  • General weakness

The breathing problems seems to be on movement, rather than standing still, even when moving in bed when laying down.

How do you get to Dysautonomia without being genetic?

  • Drinking too much
  • Undiagnosed celiac disease
  • Diabetes or pre diabetes
  • Mast cell activation Disorder (I stand to correct the prior statement, I have now seen 4 people with dysautonomia since the pandemic)
  • Mitochondrial diseases
  • Toxicity from chemotherapy or heavy metal poisoning

to name some of the possible lead to dysautonomia.

Well, the conventional scientific method has no cure or treatment for non-genetic dysautonomia, apart for physical exercise recommendation, which at times it is not possible, especially if you cannot breathe when you move even an inch, increase in sodium intake, which might or might not help. Obviously, you do need to see a neurologist in severe cases or symptoms.

The non-conventional way but most natural way is a High dosage of B vitamins with other minerals and vitamins essential to nourish the neurones on your nervous system. Craniosacral therapy to rebalance the vagal nerve if it is the one that is causing the problem. Mindfulness meditation or any kind of meditation and rests with, when possible, a gentle movement of the body, even if it is on the spot.

It is essential and important that you get a diagnosis of dysautonomia, or have checked all the possible genetic problems and causes of your symptoms before you read and more of what you can do with dysautonomia. And a possible collaboration of medical and non-medical or looking for both sides of the health practitioner the medical and non-medical even without holding hands with each other!

This is not a medical diagnoses and any suggestions are only suggestions, anything that you take or do needs to be checked by a professional practitioner for your own issues!

© Maria Esposito BSc (Hons) R-Nutritional Therapists – NAET – R-Craniosacral therapist – NLP practitioner – PCI NLP Health coaching – Certified Angel Guide – Mindfulness Meditation teacher – The resilient Heart (Heart-Math) meditation and 12.5 hours CPD in Trauma for professionals – M-Bant – M-CSTA – CHNC registered

Preparing for pregnancy: Nutrition and connections for having a human being!

Making a human being, needs to be thought and prepare the vessel, or a woman body, as well as the man sperm, to make sure that the human being that you are making, is healthy, and stays healthy in their adult life.

And it is true that sometimes, the grandmothers health is as important as the parents themselves. That is because the eggs of the women are already there since birth. So the health of the father or the mother, has been determined in some way already by the health of their mothers.

The second stage of your baby health is the parents body health. For the man, if they want a healthy sperm, they need to prepare at least 3 months before to even started to have a baby, as the cycle of the sperm take almost 3 months to complete. So for the sperm to be healthy the man needs to start giving up alcohol, and increase their exercise and healthy eating at least 3 months before.

For the mother, again if they smoke (or both parents smoke, ideally start reducing or giving up, without the vape either, as that is pure nicotine, 6 months or a year before hand).

The mother vitamin A needs to be there stored in the liver. Vitamin A is essential for fertility for both parents, cell division and replication, when there an insemination and then for implantation of the embryo, as well as for the eyes health.

For the vegetarian form, beta-carotene during pregnancy does not convert well to Retinol, so might be important that a supplement of vitamin A, or retinol, before falling pregnant is essential for vegetarian and vegan mothers.

Iron status also needs to be at optimum level for mothers, so that they do not fall too low during pregnancy. Iron is essential for many functions and growth during pregnancy for the mother and the baby.

Vitamin D is also essential to be at optimum level for mothers prior to pregnancy, as well as vitamin E. Vitamin D for calcium uptake for mothers and babies, and vitamin E a anti-oxidant for both.

Vitamin B12, is also essential to be at optimum level prior to pregnancy as essential for many function during pregnancy, especially for vegetarian, vegans and any one that had eating disorders, or disorder eating in the past.

Zinc also essential in many function during pregnancy.

Other essential vitamins for everyday health and fertility are the water soluble vitamin Bs, all of them, and in particular B3 and B6. Water soluble vitamins like the B vitamins and vitamin C and iodine, do get eliminated everyday, so you need to eat food that has them every day.

Also your thyroid is essential for you to get pregnant, so make sure that your thyroid is in good health. You might need to take kelp or iodine if you are low, to fall pregnant. The thyroid is essential to maintain the metabolism and your energy during pregnancy and after, and it is the one that is quite tired at the end of pregnancy and during breastfeeding.

There are lots more vitamins and minerals, as well as carbohydrates, fat essentials and non essential, and proteins, that are in need to be in a balanced way, before, during and after pregnancy. If you had multiple pregnancy before, than you might need to top up on some of the nutrients before you have your next one!

and ALSO

Connecting to your baby when you are pregnant will make so much difference to that baby landing to the outside world. There are more and more studies now, (if you are want proof), that baby do feel if the mother touches their belly, or talk to the belly, even at an early stage, and if you explain to your baby in your belly, that one day you were upset or stressed or overwhelmed, and that way of being had nothing to do with the baby, that whatever they are feeling or sensing, is something that you as a mother were going through, the baby will come out in this world understanding that what he/she felt was not his/hers and hence they do not hold on to it through their lives!.

Talk and communicate with your baby, before they are born or certainly when they are born. Communications is the way a baby will understand you, and when they cry is the way they communicate with you that something is not right with them.

Most of all when they are born, do cuddle them, hold them, go to them when they cry, kiss them and tell them that they are so precious and important. Sing and laugh with them, from conception to birth and beyond! Enjoy the little ones!

You can book an appointment with me by email me or call me to make sure that you are preparing nutritionally and mentally for your first baby or multiple babies.

Craniosacral therapy is a perfect combination of a healthy body and mind and connecting to your beautiful baby or babies, during pregnancy. North London clinic