How I got sick and got better

Nuances about Vitamin B12 absorption

Dear Ones,

0. How I got sick and got better

It’s been a while! I had traveled back home to Malaysia in November after a wonderful trip in Japan with

Vicky Zhao

, and found myself in the midst of a crisis. My dad’s health seems to have taken a tremendous dip and he seems to be having dementia, angry at everyone. I grew up thinking most of his anger is justified—to be treated like an infant when you are 85 years old will make anyone mad. Still, we all did the best we could, and I found myself getting along with my brother in a new way. There’s only the two of us siblings, after all.

When I got home, I thought I was just having a hard time with jet lag. But even after a few weeks, I found myself still sleeping 15 hours a day, barely mustering up the energy to appear chipper on a zoom call or a quick tweet/cast.

No thoughts, no energy.

I was concerned—was I depressed? Understandably the whole family situation is quite upsetting and I have had clinical depression in the past that manifested in low energy. But I didn’t feel like my mood was affected. If anything, my mood was great. I just couldn’t get my body to move!

After some detective work digging through scientific research data, I had put this hypothesis together:

In Malaysia → diet with low B12 (my family tends not to eat a lot of beef, and Malaysian cooking does use meat but not in the insane amounts that we use in the US) → gastritis issues a while back damaged stomach lining → B12 absorption in the stomach requires Intrinsic Factor, a glycoprotein found on stomach lining → B12 can be absorbed sublingually (under the tongue) which does not require Intrinsic Factor

In desperation, I whipped out my phone and found a B12 sublingual spray from Sprouts through Instacart.

Because we live in a fantastic modern society, the spray arrived in 30 min.

I sprayed it, and instantly, it felt like someone PLUGGED IN MY POWER CORD. I raved about this to

Cameron Armstrong

on our scheduled zoom in a maniacal state.

Here's an important nuance missed by most advice about B12 intake: for folks with GI conditions like me, B12 is NOT absorbed well when ingested in pill form or from dietary intake (e.g. red meat.)

The sublingual (under the tongue) pathway is the key here: there are blood vessels under our tongue that allows direct bloodstream absorption.

This was a few weeks ago and I’ve since added a few more supplements to my arsenal, and together they seem to support a level of energy closer to what I had, though recovering from B12 deficiency takes time (closer to a year!) My scientist- and chaplaincy-trained mind introduced questions too, like:

• Are we really sure this is what happened? To prove my hypothesis, I should test for Intrinsic Factor antibodies, B12 metabolites, etc. (Thanks to our fave functional medicine expert

  Maymie Chan
  for putting up with my WhatsApp messages!) But the tricky thing is—I have already started restoring my B12 levels, so the data may not be clear!

• In light of all the health messages we are bombarded with, it is so hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. I often reference health influencer podcasts, dig a little, and find that the data do not support their conclusions. What can I do to help others come up with a heuristic that works for the average person?

• Spiritual practice relies on a foundation of reasonably good health, yet awakening does not prevent ill health. The OG Buddha realized that he couldn’t starve himself to enlightenment and ate the rice and milk porridge from Sujata. He had backaches as he aged (comparing his body to an old cart held together by straps.) Yet he asked for back massages from his disciples, and was able to relieve himself of pain by entering jhana (absorptive meditation.) How can we care for our worldly vessel without egotistically trying to not die?

With this experience, I’m seeking to re-integrate my skillset in the biotech industry and share my thoughts on physical health within the context of these phrases: healthspan within reason, understated and ordinary aliveness, experimental within accessible context windows. The last one means openness to products with clarity on their efficacy to safety profile trade off, and exploring aging phenomena that are not as prominent in the zeitgeist. More on this, soon!

1. Social post highlights

I’ve been cross-posting from Warpcast where I’m more active to Twitter

https://twitter.com/Christintweets/status/1743128909523325302

2. Recommend-a-Friend

Cameron Armstrong

writes a newsletter called Creator 3x3 where he talks about the HOW of being a sustainable content creator, using his military strategy expertise to analyze the creator economy (though he would clarify that he is NOT a Jocko type. ;)) He created seemore.tv, a linktree alternative, so that it’s easier for creators to feature their offerings without having to constantly update their rotation. I’ve been using seemore.tv and like how it highlights my Substack posts without me having to lift a finger!

Cameron’s goal is to help creators “cross the chasm,” that awkward sophomoric phase when we have been doing it for a while and need a dose of strategy and motivation. He was there for me as I struggled through my health issues and worried about my creator hiatus. Check out his stuff and see if it helps you!

3. Resurfacing

I un-paywalled this newsletter edition, a crowd favorite according to Substack.

Warm Wishes,

Christin

P.S. When you’re ready, here are ways I can support you:

➞ Debug Your Meditation — This book helps you build a joyful meditation habit.

➞ 1:1 Chat — Do you have a question about Buddhist practice, creative entrepreneurship, or just want to catch up? Let’s do that!