Heather Ganança, LMT

wwwnc.cdc.gov

Vitamin B12 is long understood as a vital nutrient required for red blood cell formation and nerve function, but a new Cornell study suggests its role in human biology is far more intricate, with implications for aging, metabolism and disease prevention.

The research, published Jan. 19 in the Journal of Nutrition, reports previously unrecognized pathways by which B12 influences cellular metabolism and uncovers biomarkers that may identify early nutritional stress far before classic deficiency symptoms appear.

“This is the first study that shows B12 deficiency affects skeletal muscle mitochondrial energy production,” said corresponding author Martha Field, Ph.D. ’07, associate professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell. “It’s highly relevant because muscles have high energy demands. More importantly, my co-author, Anna Thalacker-Mercer from theUAB - The University of Alabama at Birmingham, wondered if B12 supplementation in aged mice would improve muscle mitochondrial function – and it did.”

Up until now, most research has focused on B12 deficiency and the resulting clinical syndromes – megaloblastic anemia, neuropathy and cognitive decline – rather than its deeper mechanistic roles.

At Cornell, a team including Field and two of her former lab members, first authors Luisa Castillo, Ph.D. ’25, and Katarina Heyden, B.S. '18, Ph.D. ’24, set out to probe those mechanisms, mapping how B12 interacts with lipid metabolism, organelle stress pathways and epigenetic regulation.

What emerged was startling: The vitamin appears to act as a gatekeeper of multiple “hub” pathways, meaning that its insufficiency may ripple far beyond the classic symptoms.

Read more at https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/01/vitamin-b12-clues-offer-hope-new-therapies.

❤️

May your holidays be filled with contentment and connection! ☀️
I look forward to seeing you all next week!

When heart and mind walk the same path, they become more than mere thought or feeling— they become a force, quiet yet potent, an engine pulsing with unbridled fire. Where others drift, swayed by tides of logic or longing, this rare alignment carves its own way. One step, and the earth beneath pulses; another, and the air sharpens, ready. Many fear the joining, blind to its gift, believing heart to be soft, mind to be cold. But there is no greater strength than unity— no fuller power than both voices raised as one. In this harmony lies a bridge, wide as will and deep as knowing, leading beyond the worn edges of possibility, into fields where thoughts blaze and dreams take shape. Here, creation is not bounded by fear, nor slowed by doubt’s relentless grip. Here, vision and courage are boundless— the very limits of self dissolve. And for those who dare to sync these rivers, there awaits a power unmatched, a potential raw as lightning, steady as stone, ready to reshape the world in the shape of their will, A will of equilibrium aligned with the Divine’s. Video via @thebraindocofficial on instagram

Tracks from the driveway Egret

Connection is a profound human need.

Our vagus nerves help us rest, digest and restore. Can you really reset them to feel better? The sympathetic nervous system produces our fight-or-flight response to any perceived threat. The vagus nerves are part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which does the opposite.

🫀 Myocarditis: visualize the inflammation of the heart. From viral triggers to potential complications, grasp the essentials of this rare condition. Empower your heart knowledge with #CompleteAnatomy 💓 #HeartMonth #MedicalEducation #AnatomySnippet LEARN MORE: http://spkl.io/61864ar5m