Hi, Jeff!

You might give a read to "Why Stomach Acid is Good for You," by Jonathon V.
Wright, MD and Lane Lenard, PhD.  I just checked it for "intrinsic factor,"
and they mention it in the section about B12.  Dr. Wright says that many
people do not have enough stomach acid to properly digest their food,
especially meat.  Also, that many people who think they have too much
stomach acid actually have too little.  (Have you noticed that the symptoms
of a deficiency of most nutrients is the same as those for too much?)  His
solution is to supplement with HCl and Pepsin.  I'm taking the Solaray
brand.  I am a Little Old Lady, but I was doing OK until this Christmas,
when I ate too many sweets.  (I'm probably a candidate for Candida
tx.)  However, this is not a real do-it-yourself solution, as some people
should not supplement with HCl, and obviously, care must be taken with the
dosage.  Reading the book will give you the info you need on this.

Jane

At 01:56 PM 2/14/03 -0700, you wrote:
 ><snip>
 >He said it is usually the lack of intrinsic factor or poor digestion that
 >leads to B12 deficiency.   <snip>