B-Complex Deficiency Syndrome: The Great Pretender

by Dr. Bruce West

If you’re sick with anything at all, first rule out prescription drugs as the cause. After that consider BCDS as the cause of your problems.

“What can be the root cause of paralyzing heart disease, hypoglycemia, anorexia, neuritis and neuralgia, depression and anxiety? What can be the root cause of weakness and fatigue, exhaustion after meals, indigestion and insufficient stomach acid, poor appetite, craving for sweets, noise sensitivity, headaches, insomnia, nervousness, forgetfulness, and mental problems such as severe apprehension and uneasiness, vague or morbid fears, rage and hostility, hallucinations, and a debilitating and constant fear that something horrible is going to happen?”

Health Alert, Vol. 26, No. 9

There are not too many things that can mimic so many health problems, disorders, and diseases as B‐Complex Deficiency Syndrome (BCDS). This is the technical name for a B‐vitamin complex deficiency, and it can cause or mimic just about everything, from paralyzing heart disease to radical emotional problems. It sneaks up on most people. It gets worse after pregnancy or prolonged illness. It is common among children who eat almost no foods rich in whole B vitamins because they mostly consume processed foods and sweets that make a B‐vitamin deficiency worse. Literally millions of Americans are sick every day because of BCDS. And for the most part, they never know about it, never find out about it, are incorrectly treated with prescription drugs because of it, and eventually die young from it.

I have written about BCDS before, but it is so important, it needs repeating almost yearly. If you are sick with anything at all, you must first rule out your prescription drugs as the cause. In fact, consider that your prescription drugs are the cause of your health problems until proven otherwise. Once these are ruled out, you need to rule out the second most common cause of health problems—BCDS. This is especially true if you are a teen if you are having emotional or mental problems, if you are having heart problems if you are a woman if you are a pregnant woman or one who has just given birth, or even if you are a kid who can’t sit still in school. And no matter what sex or age you are, if you begin to experience mental or emotional problems, especially a constant fear that something dreadful is going to happen, you need to rule out BCDS.

Ruling out BCDS can be done easily by simply changing your diet and taking a real B‐complex supplement that contains every part of the B complex, including parts that we may not even know about. The only supplement that can do this is one made from whole‐food concentrates and extracts. Any and all other high‐potency B‐vitamin products are incomplete at best, and at worst can exacerbate BCDS by inducing B‐vitamin imbalances on top of an already existing deficiency. The more potent these products are, the more problems they can induce.

Treating for BCDS can be done before embarking on prescription therapy. The reason is simple. The list of drugs that might be prescribed for all the conditions that can be caused by BCDS is endless. And multiple‐prescription drug therapy to cover up symptoms caused by a B‐vitamin deficiency can spell disaster. Not only will you remain unhealthy, but you will also suffer multiple and complex side effects. And some of these, especially those caused by heart and psych drugs, can be deadly.

The Two Sides of the B‐Complex

One side of the B complex is involved in helping you stay energized. We call that part the B complex. The other side of the B complex is involved in helping you stay relaxed or calm. We call that part the G complex. Most people with BCDS are tired out and need the energizing B complex portion of the whole B complex. But some people, especially kids, are often unable to relax and need the G complex portion of the whole B complex.

Both are made from extracts and concentrates of liver, special yeasts, beets, carrots, wheat germ, adrenal, and much more. The foods have to be organically grown, and the processing has to be without heat or solvents to maintain the live tapestry of the nutrients. This is the only way to get the full spectrum of B vitamins, including vitamin B4, which cannot be synthesized. Consider this type of product versus a typical bottle of “high‐potency” B-vitamin tablets that cost less to produce than the paper label. There is simply no comparison. One works the other does not.

Standard Process® makes both the B (Cataplex® B ) and G (Cataplex® G ) portions of the whole B complex. Since both are made from whole-food concentrates and extracts, they both contain amounts of both portions. They are just weighted either toward the energizing B complex (Cataplex® B) or the relaxing G complex (Cataplex® G). Generally, most people require 6 to 9 Cataplex® B daily for 6 months or more. But for those who simply cannot relax—for example, the kids who can’t sit still in school, the hyperactive, the hypertensive—then 6 to 9 Cataplex® G may be best. It is not unusual for me to prescribe both products to the same patient (for example, 6 to 9 tablets of Cataplex® B with 3 to 6 tablets of Cataplex® G, or 6 to 9 tablets of Cataplex® G with 3 to 6 tablets of Cataplex® B) depending on whether the problem is more a lack of energy with low blood pressure and heart function or the inability to relax, with high blood pressure and a hyper‐heart function.

Adults and B Vitamins

The most common problem associated with BCDS in adults is heart and blood vessel disease. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is almost always caused by BCDS. In this case, the B‐vitamin deficiency induces a paralyzing weakness in the heart muscle called sub‐clinical beriberi of the heart. Given this cause, it is easy to see how ineffective and dangerous prescription drugs that chemically force the heart to beat stronger can be. They can sometimes be likened to whipping a dying horse. Your choice of B‐vitamin products here is Cataplex® B (9 tablets daily) combined with Cardio-Plus® (also by Standard Process® at a dose of 9 to 12 tablets daily).

The next most common problem associated with BCDS in adults is staggering exhaustion, low blood pressure, and mental/emotional problems. When you can’t get out of bed, think BCDS. If you are not recovering from pregnancy and delivery, think BCDS. When you are paralyzed with postpartum depression, think BCDS. When you are overwhelmed with constant fears, delusions, rage, depression, nervousness, and anxiety, think BCDS. Your choice of B‐vitamin products here is as follows: If you are exhausted and suffer any combination of the symptoms listed, start on Cataplex® B (9 to 12 tablets daily) and Cataplex® G (6 to 9 tablets daily). If you are overhyped and cannot relax with any combination of the symptoms listed, simply reverse the dose of the products.

The Kids Suffer the Most

“For those doctors who have the courage to take a stand, we applaud. For those who are still in the dark, we offer a light. For those who narrow‐mindedly condemn, we are sorry. Unfortunately, the real sadness must be reserved for their patients—the scores of innocent kids.” (Health Alert, Vol. 9, No. 9)

Goodness—did I write that over 25 years ago?! It is as true today as it was then.

Children suffer greatly with BCDS. And their very first signs are mental and emotional instability. These symptoms are right out of a medical textbook describing a disease that most physicians consider eradicated in the last century—the B‐vitamin deficiency disease, beriberi. Sub‐clinical (not full‐blown) beriberi affects kids mentally. If not resolved with the right B‐vitamin nutrition before they become adults, it will eventually manifest itself physically in a paralyzing form of heart disease that, if left untreated, will eventually cause death.

So if your kids or grandkids start feeling or acting strangely—and in particular, if they start to live in constant fear that something dreadful is about to happen—think BCDS and treat immediately for at least 6 to 12 months. Today it is a shocking fact that children by the millions are being drugged for mental and emotional symptoms caused by a dramatic, universal, and deadly B‐vitamin deficiency.

Unfortunately, the same can be said for adults. But the good news is that you can end this tragedy—for yourself, your kids, and your grandkids. Use B‐vitamin therapy with Cataplex® B and Cataplex® G before you embark on the world of symptom treatment with all its problems. And please—do this first for the kids.