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Guillaume Belanger's Reviews > Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
Could It Be B12?: An Epidemic of Misdiagnoses
by
by
Essential information; way too long and repetitive
I think this book is an important read in order to grasp the importance of B12, the devastating consequences of B12 deficiency, and the generalised ignorance about this in the health care field. However, it should be a quarter of the size. There is a lot of things that are repeated several times in slightly different ways, and there are way too many reported case histories. I have written a concise article about B12 based on the book that I think captures the essence of it in far fewer words here: B12: Your Life Depends on It
The authors of this book, a registered nurse and an osteopathic doctor, work and have worked for a long time as health care practitioners, and have seen a lot of things. Clearly the most remarkable of these is the universality of both misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of B12 deficiency. They have seen time and time again the devastating toll that this deficiency has brought to hundreds of people, from the youngest infants to oldest elders, and have also seen, very unfortunately, almost as often the sad truth that the doctors treating these people failed to recognise that their problems were are stemming from B12 deficiency.
Therefore, they wrote this book to inform as many individuals as possible, and at the same time give themselves the necessary backing in the form of a written document for what has been since then their mission to bring to the medical community as a whole the direly needed attention this issue deserves.
In that sense, the book is very convincing, and hence serves its purpose well. It is, however, very long to get through, and contains surprisingly little biochemistry and physiology even if the main subject, B12 or cobalamin deficiency, is wholly biochemical and physiological in form and in action. There are a very large number of examples and reported cases of victims of B12 deficiency, what their symptoms were, how their story unfolded over weeks, months and years, how they recovered sometimes fully, sometimes partly, and sometimes not significantly from being unable to remediate to the permanent neurological damage incurred.
Furthermore, as with most of the health books I have read and listed in this bibliography, there is a lot of repetition throughout the book. It is clearly a book written for the masses (even though there are some sections, including a whole chapter dedicated to health practitioners, with more technical details and specific advice). As such, the authors are primarily concerned with getting their main message across, which is: do not allow yourself or your doctor to be ignorant to the devastation that B12 deficiency can cause, and everyone's B12 levels should be kept above 600 pg/ml throughout life.
I think this book is an important read in order to grasp the importance of B12, the devastating consequences of B12 deficiency, and the generalised ignorance about this in the health care field. However, it should be a quarter of the size. There is a lot of things that are repeated several times in slightly different ways, and there are way too many reported case histories. I have written a concise article about B12 based on the book that I think captures the essence of it in far fewer words here: B12: Your Life Depends on It
The authors of this book, a registered nurse and an osteopathic doctor, work and have worked for a long time as health care practitioners, and have seen a lot of things. Clearly the most remarkable of these is the universality of both misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis of B12 deficiency. They have seen time and time again the devastating toll that this deficiency has brought to hundreds of people, from the youngest infants to oldest elders, and have also seen, very unfortunately, almost as often the sad truth that the doctors treating these people failed to recognise that their problems were are stemming from B12 deficiency.
Therefore, they wrote this book to inform as many individuals as possible, and at the same time give themselves the necessary backing in the form of a written document for what has been since then their mission to bring to the medical community as a whole the direly needed attention this issue deserves.
In that sense, the book is very convincing, and hence serves its purpose well. It is, however, very long to get through, and contains surprisingly little biochemistry and physiology even if the main subject, B12 or cobalamin deficiency, is wholly biochemical and physiological in form and in action. There are a very large number of examples and reported cases of victims of B12 deficiency, what their symptoms were, how their story unfolded over weeks, months and years, how they recovered sometimes fully, sometimes partly, and sometimes not significantly from being unable to remediate to the permanent neurological damage incurred.
Furthermore, as with most of the health books I have read and listed in this bibliography, there is a lot of repetition throughout the book. It is clearly a book written for the masses (even though there are some sections, including a whole chapter dedicated to health practitioners, with more technical details and specific advice). As such, the authors are primarily concerned with getting their main message across, which is: do not allow yourself or your doctor to be ignorant to the devastation that B12 deficiency can cause, and everyone's B12 levels should be kept above 600 pg/ml throughout life.
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Could It Be B12?.
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Reading Progress
June 1, 2013
–
Started Reading
August 1, 2013
–
Finished Reading
December 23, 2014
– Shelved
