{"id":10977,"date":"2026-10-06T15:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T15:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/?p=10977"},"modified":"2026-10-06T15:52:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T15:52:30","slug":"dr-vliets-health-tip-low-energy-fatigue-and-brain-fog-it-isnt-just-your-thyroid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/es\/2026\/10\/dr-vliets-health-tip-low-energy-fatigue-and-brain-fog-it-isnt-just-your-thyroid\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Vliet\u2019s Health Tip: Low Energy, Fatigue, and Brain Fog? It Isn\u2019t Just Your Thyroid!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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I have so many patients telling me they are experiencing low energy, persistent fatigue, slowed thinking and brain fog \u2013 these are some of the most common reasons adults seek medical care. Most of the time patients say, \u201cI think it is my thyroid but my doctor says my TSH is normal.\u00a0 Yet I don\u2019t feel like myself.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 They seem to think that their traditional MD and the standard thyroid lab tests \u201care missing the problem\u201d because these same symptoms are so widely described everywhere <\/em>in health articles and on social media as due to \u201clow thyroid.\u201d\u00a0 What these articles and social media don\u2019t tell people is that there are MANY causes of these same symptoms \u2013 including complications of the COVID shots, ovarian hormone decline in perimenopause and menopause to name some big ones I see every day in my medical practice.\u00a0 These symptoms are not specific for hypothyroidism.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t listen to the social media influencers that seem to be blaming everything on the thyroid or cortisol levels. They tell you a story about their symptoms that you completely relate to, sounds just like what you are experiencing. You cannot<\/strong> diagnose from symptoms alone \u2013 too many conditions overlap \u2013 and you certainly can\u2019t diagnose yourself from videos on YouTube or social media posts!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s health tip focuses on another common and frequently overlooked cause of fatigue, low energy, slowed thinking and \u201cbrain fog\u201d \u2013or as one patient said \u201cI feel like my get-up-and-go has gotten up and GONE!\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Yes, it\u2019s quite true that hypothyroidism can cause all those symptoms and more\u2014forgetfulness, constipation, weight gain, dry skin, and cold intolerance.\u00a0 Yes, it is true that we need to fully assess thyroid function, including thyroid antibodies\u2014which I have done on ALL my patients since I started my private medical practice in 1985.<\/p>\n

But these symptoms are not unique to the thyroid, as I have said in most of my books, programs and articles.<\/strong> Vitamin B deficiencies\u2014especially vitamin B12 and folate (B9)\u2014can produce the identical pattern of low stamina, reduced exercise tolerance, poor concentration, memory problems, low mood, mental slowing, loss of energy and motivation to \u201cget up and go.\u201d<\/p>\n

A normal thyroid test does not rule out B-vitamin deficiency, just as a low B12 level does not rule out thyroid disease!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The key question is often not \u201cIs this thyroid or B vitamins?\u201d but \u201cCould one\u2014or both\u2014be contributing causes? Are there other metabolic or endocrine causes also contributing to my loss of energy and brain fog?\u201d\u00a0 A thorough workup for multi-determined symptoms like fatigue and brain fog also needs to include all the tests I have listed in the Treatment Guides on our website, and my books (available through the Truth for Health store at www.Shoptruthforhealth.com<\/a> (all profits go to support the Foundation.)<\/p>\n

Vitamin B12 and folate are necessary for healthy red-blood-cell production, oxygen delivery, DNA synthesis, and normal neurologic function. When deficiency leads to anemia, people may experience weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, headaches, and profound fatigue. B12 deficiency can also affect the nervous system directly, causing tingling or numbness, impaired balance, memory difficulty, depressed mood, or cognitive slowing\u2014even before anemia appears on a routine blood count.<\/em><\/strong> If you have the MTHFR gene, and are not taking methylated B vitamins, you are not likely absorbing enough of the B vitamins even if you take supplements. <\/em>Simple blood tests can be checked to see if you have one of these MTHFR mutations that affect vitamin and mineral absorption, and I do this for my patients routinely.<\/p>\n

Make sure your physicians or other health professional doing lab tests for you does NOT stop with just thyroid tests when you have the symptoms I described above. This is particularly important for adults over 60, people using metformin or long-term acid-suppressing medications, those following vegan or highly restrictive diets, and people with gastrointestinal disease, bariatric surgery, or autoimmune conditions.\u00a0\u00a0 A full-spectrum, methylated B-complex can help restore nutritional adequacy and improve symptoms when a true deficiency or gap in your intake exists, but it is not a substitute for an accurate diagnosis. Testing helps identify the specific deficiency, guides the appropriate dose and form of treatment, and prevents a potentially important problem\u2014particularly B12-related nerve injury\u2014from being overlooked or masked by indiscriminate supplementation without knowing what your root causes are.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiagnostics\u201d are a critical step in the evaluation of anything<\/em> that isn\u2019t working as it should \u2013whether it\u2019s your car, your computer, your kitchen appliances OR your body!\u00a0 That\u2019s such a common-sense starting point. Yet sadly, my medical profession today seems to be also bypassing that basic step and making \u201cdiagnoses\u201d based on symptoms and writing a prescription for a pill\u2014often an antidepressant to \u201cimprove energy.\u201d All too often, however, the culprit isn\u2019t \u201cdepression\u201d causing low energy \u2013 it is more likely a result of nutritional and vitamin deficits, metabolic disruption, and\/or endocrine (hormone) imbalance.\u00a0 To sort out these questions and decide the right treatment approaches, it is critical to get the right blood tests at the beginning, along with physical checks and imaging studies to augment the diagnosis.
\nFor today\u2019s Health Tip, I just wanted to focus on one of the most overlooked blood test panels that has a major impact on our energy level, mood, metabolism and clarity of thinking \u2013 our \u201cmental sharpness.\u201d\u00a0 I am not going to talk about today ALL the blood tests I think are important in a comprehensive evaluation for a new patient (check my more extensive list in my COVID Vaccine Injury Treatment Guide on our website). I want to focus today on the B vitamins because they are so often overlooked.<\/p>\n

Since COVID hit and the COVID shots rolled out, I have been seeing far more vitamin deficiencies in my patients because these are blood tests that I regularly do on my new patients and for follow up appointments. I think the uptick in vitamin deficits are related to the COVID shot causing spike-protein-induced and toxic lipid-nanoparticle-induced inflammatory damage to the GI tract and blood vessels, which in turn impairs nutrient absorption and delivery to tissues.\u00a0 As a result of the marked increase in number and type of vitamin deficits I see in my patients, I have expanded my recommendations on vitamin supplementation.<\/p>\n

For many years I have routinely checked B12, folate, and B6 vitamin levels since these play a major role in the common symptoms of fatigue, PMS, depression, memory loss that often lead to doctors overprescribing anti-depressants. True deficiencies of other B vitamins have not been as common in the United States since many foods are fortified with these vitamins. But with the COVID rollout and increases damage we are seeing from the COVID injections, I am seeing more deficiencies of all the B vitamins in my patients.\u00a0 So I have expanded the B vitamin panel and now check those levels in all my new patients and those established patients who have gotten COVID shots and boosters. Even minor deficits can manifest in vague symptoms and affect quality of life.<\/p>\n

There is another major point most doctors and social media influencers don\u2019t know to tell you.\u00a0 Lab reference ranges are just that: a RANGE.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t tell you what is optimal <\/em>for you! \u201cNormal\u201d for one person may be too low for someone else.\u00a0 Each of us is different, and have different metabolic needs.\u00a0 There are also optimal ranges based on clinical studies and this is often not discussed with patients, who are often just told \u201cYour results are in the normal range, you are find.\u201d\u00a0 For example, I recently ordered a complete vitamin B panel on an active mid-fifties woman who described a decline in exercise performance and lack of \u201cget up and go\u201d she used to have. Her estradiol, testosterone and thyroid labs were all in the optimal range on her Rx.\u00a0 But labs came back with a vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency, despite a healthy balanced diet and lifestyle.\u00a0 Thiamine deficits play a huge role in central nervous system function and our cellular energy production.<\/p>\n

I recommended she start our methylated <\/em><\/strong>TruB Complex Full Spectrum <\/strong><\/a>with an added thiamine supplement, in addition to her B12 she was already taking (due to her mostly vegetarian diet). Within a few weeks she reported significant improvements, including \u201cincreased motivation to exercise and more enjoyment from her activities!\u201d\u00a0 Based on diet alone, we did not expect to see such a significant thiamine deficiency. It was only the blood test that made it possible to identify.\u00a0 I suspect it was one of the many adverse effects (including elevated D-Dimer) from her earlier COVID injections.<\/p>\n

I also know the power of vitamin Bs from my own experience (and perhaps this has made me even more aware to do comprehensive checks for all my patients). Last summer, as I wrote in an earlier health tip, a rattlesnake killed my last three egg-laying chickens, and I lost my fresh eggs, which had become my main daily source of B vitamins.\u00a0 My chickens had been fine two hours earlier when I let them out to roam, and I came back find all three were lying on the ground dead!<\/em>\u00a0 No signs of injury, and they had plenty of water, food and shade. The only <\/em>clues we had as to what happened was the rapid death of all three, markedly abnormal dark purplish skin discoloration (a sign of snake venom poisoning), and I knew rattlesnakes, common in the AZ desert, eat chicken eggs and go after chickens as prey.<\/p>\n

When I began raising chickens in 2022, I had so many fresh eggs I would normally eat 4 or even 5 fresh eggs a day over my three meals, since eggs are one of the healthiest and nutrition dense foods available \u2013 and a rich source of quality protein, healthy fat, choline, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein and B vitamins<\/em>\u2014all major supporters of energy and brain health. The B vitamins are also essential support for energy metabolism, nerve health and red blood cell formation. Just a note to reassure our readers: even eating all those eggs every day, my cholesterol never went up, I have a very healthy lipid profile (cholesterol 140-150), and I taking no medication except my thyroid and estradiol (which naturally lowers total cholesterol, lowers LDL and increases <\/em>HDL). It is another false \u201cnarrative\u201d that \u201ceggs increase cholesterol,\u201d and we shouldn\u2019t eat them. That lie that caused people to avoid a healthy source of critical nutrients, AND served Big Pharma profit agenda of pushing people to take statins to \u201clower cholesterol.\u201d<\/p>\n

When my egg-laying chickens were killed, I simply did without eating eggs every day since I didn\u2019t like the taste of store-bought eggs. My own eggs from my chickens tasted MUCH better! My chickens didn\u2019t have any antibiotics or growth hormones, and I fed my chickens with organic feed, dried mealworms, vegetables, organic greens, watermelon and berries.\u00a0 I also didn\u2019t feel like eating much meat in the extremely hot summer months, which is another good source of all the B vitamins.\u00a0 Gradually over the summer and early fall, I began feeling more tired, not as \u201csharp\u201d in focus, and felt like my mojo was dragging, and I had more nerve tingling in my hands.\u00a0 I just thought it was the extreme and prolonged heat wave we had in southern AZ last summer.\u00a0 Although I was still taking our Multivitamin with B vitamins and iron, I didn\u2019t really think about the major loss of choline, omega-3 fatty acids, lutein and all the B vitamins because I no longer had my eggs every day, and wasn\u2019t eating much meat either.<\/p>\n

Finally I had an AHA! Moment.\u00a0 When it dawned on me I wasn\u2019t eating my own chicken eggs every day, I decided to add our TruB Full Spectrum, Complete Methylated B Complex <\/strong><\/a>in addition to the low dose of B vitamins in my multivitamin.\u00a0 After about two weeks, I was surprised to see that I could really tell a difference in how I felt. I wasn\u2019t as \u201cdraggy\u201d tired, back closer to my usual energy, and had more \u201cget up and go\u201d ( I call it \u201cmojo\u201d).\u00a0 I felt my mental acuity was sharper, back to normal in focus and concentration.\u00a0 I have to admit I was surprised to find that the simple addition of the Methylated B Complex made such a difference so quickly when I thought I had a pretty healthy regimen already.\u00a0 My daily intake of my great healthy chicken eggs had obviously been more of a loss than I realized.<\/p>\n

I have generally recommended a B complex to my patients, usually as part of a quality multivitamin every day. In patients with the MTHFR mutations, which I also check, I may also prescribe injectable weekly B12 shots if levels are low, since MTHFR mutations cause impaired oral absorption of B12 and a few other nutrients. But, I am now seeing that the B vitamins in multivitamins are not always enough.\u00a0\u00a0 Most doctors today do not check vitamin blood tests, but you can order these tests yourself on line from many laboratories including Quest Diagnostics and Lab Corp who offer the services for patients to directly order for themselves many common blood tests.\u00a0 I have always said that you should never diagnose from symptoms alone and doctors should never discount a patient\u2019s concerns because of how they look<\/em>. It is just too simple and easy to get the tests done and know for sure exactly what you are dealing with. Look at all the different functions in your body that the various B vitamins are involved in. It\u2019s pretty amazing and explains why B vitamins are SO important!\u00a0 This is WHY <\/em><\/strong>I test all of the B vitamins.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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What\"\" are some of the early indicators of lower than optimal levels of B vitamins? Why might you want to consider adding our Methylated TruB\u2122 Full Spectrum<\/strong><\/a> ? Let\u2019s look at some key concepts to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

B VITAMINS WORK BEST in COMBINATION, SYNERGISTICALLY<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t generally recommend taking large doses of single B vitamins without taking the foundation of a balanced B complex, preferably a methylated form if using oral supplements.\u00a0 Taking a single B vitamin supplementation can mask other deficiencies. I find that many people have multiple subclinical deficits that benefit from comprehensive support.<\/p>\n

That is why I test first, then supplement with a multivitamin with a B complex or a separate methylated Full Spectrum B Complex and then add single vitamin B supplementation as indicated by the objective lab tests.<\/p>\n

Early Indicators for B Vitamin Deficiencies<\/strong><\/p>\n

B vitamin deficits, even just suboptimal levels, can have a wide range of clinical presentations, from subtle early signs to severe neurological, psychological, metabolic, and hematologic (blood) manifestations.<\/p>\n