Unlike
caffeine and other artificial stimulants, B vitamins don’t give you
that artificial jolt of energy, followed by an inevitable letdown. Your
body uses B vitamins the way nature intended – to give you sustained
stamina and mental clarity throughout the day, every day.
Vitamin B12
is essential for the synthesis of the genetic material in all your
cells and is required for normal cell growth and devel-opment. It is
essential for energy production, since you cannot metabolize
carbohydrates or burn fat without Vitamin B12. It is also an important
part of your body’s process for converting homo-cysteine to methionine,
thereby reducing homocysteine levels and supporting cardiovascular
health. Like all of the B-Complex vitamins, Vitamin B12 is easily
depleted by stress and whether from food or a supplement, is perhaps
the most complex and difficult to absorb of all vitamins.
More
Interesting
Information about B12:
This information was
taken
from a fact sheet developed by the Clinical Nutrition Service, Warren
Grant
Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH),
Bethesda,
MD, in conjunction with the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) in the
Office of the Director of NIH.
Who may need a vitamin B12
supplement?
Individuals with pernicious
anemia
Pernicious anemia is a form of
anemia that
occurs when there is an absence of intrinsic factor, a substance
normally
present in the stomach. Vitamin B12 binds with intrinsic factor before
it is absorbed and used by your body. An absence of intrinsic factor
prevents
normal absorption of B12 and results in pernicious anemia.
Individuals with
gastrointestinal disorders
Individuals with stomach and small
intestinal
disorders may not absorb enough vitamin B12 from food to maintain
healthy
body stores. Sprue and celiac disease are intestinal disorders caused
by
intolerance to protein in wheat and wheat products. Regional enteritis,
localized inflammation of the stomach or small intestine, also results
in generalized malabsorption of vitamin B12. Excess bacteria in the
stomach
and small intestine also can decrease vitamin B12 absorption.
Surgical procedures of the
gastrointestinal
tract such as surgery to remove all or part of the stomach often result
in a loss of cells that secrete stomach acid and intrinsic factor.
Surgical
removal of the distal ileum, a section of the intestines, also can
result
in the inability to absorb B12. Anyone who has had either of these
surgeries
usually requires lifelong supplemental B12 to prevent a deficiency.
Older Adults
Vitamin B12 must be separated from
protein
in food before it can bind with intrinsic factor and be absorbed by
your
body. Bacterial overgrowth in the stomach and/or atrophic gastritis, an
inflammation of the stomach, contribute to vitamin B12 deficiency in
adults
by limiting secretions of stomach acid needed to separate vitamin B12
from
protein in food. 10 to 30 percent of older people may be unable to
absorb
vitamin B12 in food.
Vegetarians
Vegetarians who do not eat meats,
fish,
eggs, milk or milk products, or B12 fortified foods consume no vitamin
B12 and are at high risk of developing a deficiency of vitamin B12.
When
adults adopt a vegetarian diet, deficiency symptoms can be slow to
appear
because it usually takes years to deplete normal body stores of
B12.
However, severe symptoms of B12 deficiency, most often featuring poor
neurological
development, can show up quickly in children and breast-fed infants of
women who follow a strict vegetarian diet.
What is the relationship
between vitamin
B12, homocysteine, and heart disease?
A deficiency of vitamin B12, folate,
or
vitamin B6 may increase your blood level of homocysteine, an amino acid
normally found in your blood. There is evidence that an elevated blood
level of homocysteine is an independent risk factor for heart disease
and
stroke. The evidence suggests that high levels of homocysteine may
damage
coronary arteries or make it easier for blood clotting cells called
platelets
to clump together and form a clot.
This information was
taken
from a fact sheet developed by the Clinical Nutrition Service, Warren
Grant
Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health (NIH),
Bethesda,
MD, in conjunction with the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) in the
Office of the Director of NIH.
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B-12,
B-6 and Folic Acid benefits:
Vitamin B12, or cobalamin,
was isolated
form a liver extract in 1948 and identified as the nutritional factor
in
liver that prevented pernicious anemia, a deadly type of anemia
characterized
by large, immature red blood cells. Vitamin B12 is a bright red
crystalline
compound because of its high content of cobalt. Vitamin B12 works with
folic acid in many body processes, including the synthesis of DNA, red
blood cells, and the insulation sheath (the myelin sheath) that
surrounds
nerve cells and speeds the conduction of the signals along nerve cells.
In order to absorb the small amounts of vitamin B12 found in food, the
stomach secretes intrinsic factor, a special digestive secretion that
increases
the absorption of vitamin B12 in the small intestine.
Vitamin B12 supplementation could
be appropriate
in many conditions, including AIDS, impaired mental function in the
elderly,
asthma and sulfite sensitivity, depression, diabetic neuropathy, low
sperm
counts, multiple sclerosis, and tinnitis.
Deficiency Signs and Symptoms
Unlike other water-soluble
nutrients, vitamin
B12 is stored in the liver, kidney, and other body tissues. As a
result,
signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency may not show themselves
until
5 to 6 years of poor dietary intake. The classic deficiency symptom of
vitamin B12 deficiency is pernicious anemia. However, a deficiency of
vitamin
B12 actually affects the brain and nervous system first.
A vitamin B12 deficiency results
in impaired
nerve function, which can cause numbness, pins-and-needles sensations,
or a burning feeling. It can also cause impaired mental function that
in
the elderly mimics Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin B12 deficiency is
thought
to be quite common in the elderly and is a major cause of depression in
this age group.
In addition to anemia and nervous
system
symptoms, a vitamin B12 deficiency can also result in a smooth, beefy
red
tongue and diarrhea. This occurs because rapidly reproducing cells such
as those that line the mouth and entire gastrointestinal tract cannot
replicate
without vitamin B12.
Several investigators have found
the level
of vitamin B12 declines with age and that vitamin B12 deficiency is
found
in 3 to 42 percent of persons aged 65 and over.
Researchers recently studied 100
consecutive
geriatric outpatients who were seen in office-based settings for
various
acute and chronic medical illnesses; none of these outpatients
presented
symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency-related diseases like pernicious
anemia.
In this group, 11 patients had serum cobalamin levels at 148 pmol/L
(picomole
per liter) or below, 30 patients had levels between 148 and 295 pmol/L,
and 59 patients had levels above 296 pmol/L. After the initial
cobalamin
determination, the subjects were followed for up to 3 years. The
patients
with cobalamin levels below 148 pmol/L were treated and were not
included
in the analysis of declining cobalamin levels. The average annual serum
cobalamin level decline was 18 pmol/L for patients who had higher
initial
serum cobalamin levels (actual range, from 224 to 292 pmol/L. For
patients
with lower initial cobalamin levels, the average annual serum cobalamin
decline was much higher at 28 pmol/L.
These results indicate that in
the elderly
the following screen tests for vitamin B12 have a high cost-to-benefit
ratio.
* Level of
vitamin B12
in the blood (serum cobalamin)
* Level of
homocysteine
Correction of an underlying
vitamin B12 deficiency
improves mental function and quality of life in these patients quite
significantly.
Vitamin B6, also known as
pyridoxine
is part of the B group vitamins and is water-soluble and is required
for
both mental and physical health.
Vitamin B6 - pyridoxine - has
been shown
effective for the balancing of hormonal changes in women as well as
assisting
the immune system and the growth of new cells. It is also used in the
processing
and metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, while assisting
with
controlling mood as well as behavior. Pyridoxine might also be of
benefit
for children with learning difficulties, as well as assisting in the
prevention
of dandruff, eczema and psoriasis.
It assists in the balancing of
sodium and
potassium as well as promotes red blood cell production. It is
further
involved in the nucleic acids RNA as well as DNA. It is further linked
to cancer immunity and fights the formation of the toxic chemical
homocysteine,
which is detrimental to the heart muscle.
Women in particular may suffer
from pre-menstrual
fluid retention, severe period pains, emotional PMS symptoms,
premenstrual
acne and nausea in early pregnancy. Mood swings, depression, as well as
loss of sexual drive is sometimes noted when pyridoxine is in short
supply
and the person is on hormone replacement therapy or on birth control
pills.
Deficiency of vitamin B6
Irritability, nervousness and
insomnia as
well as general weakness, skin changes such as dermatitis and acne as
well
asthma and allergies might develop when pyridoxine is in short supply.
Symptoms may include nails that are ridged, an inflamed tongue as well
as changes to your bones - which can include osteoporosis and
arthritis.
Kidney stones may also appear.
Vitamin B6 is needed by the body
to manufacture
its own B3 vitamin.
Should you be taking
antidepressants,
contraceptive pills or be on hormone replacement therapy you may need
more
of this vitamin. As this vitamin is readily lost in the urine, it must
be taken regularly to ensure an adequate amount in the body.
Anybody on a very high protein
diet, using
alcohol, or allergic to MSG (mono sodium glutamate) and/or tartrazine
may
also consider increasing their vitamin B6 intake.
Folic acid, also known as
Vitamin
B9, is also referred to as folacin or folate and its chemical name is
pteroylglutamic
acid.
Vitamin B9 - folic acid - is
required for
Folic acid is required for DNA
synthesis
and cell growth and is important for red blood cell formation, energy
production
as well as the forming of amino acids. Folic acid is essential for
creating
heme, the iron containing substance in hemoglobin, crucial for oxygen
transport.
It is important for healthy cell
division
and replication, since its involvement as coenzyme for RNA and DNA
synthesis.
It is also required for protein metabolism and in treating folic acid
anemia.
Folic acid also assists in digestion, and the nervous system, and works
at improving mental as well as emotional health. This nutrient may be
effective
in treating depression and anxiety.
Shortage of folic acid may be
indicated with
diarrhea, heartburn and constipation.
Folic acid is very important in
the development
of the nervous system of a developing fetus.
Deficiency of Folic Acid
-vitamin B9
A deficiency of folic acid on an
unborn baby
may increase the risk of the baby being born with spina bifida and
other
serious defects of the nervous system.
When deficient of folic acid, you
might suffer
from fatigue, acne, a sore tongue, cracking at the corners of your
mouth
(same as deficiency of vitamin B2, vitamin B6 as well as iron). Long
term
deficiency may result in anemia and later in osteoporosis, as well as
cancer
of the bowel and cervix.
Best used with
Folic acid is more effective when
taken with
vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. Vitamin C is also good to have around folic
acid.
Pregnant women are sometimes
advised to take
a small supplement of folic acid to help prevent spina bifida and other
congenial nervous disorders, and may also assist to reduce the risk of
toxemia in pregnancy, premature labor and hemorrhaging. It is also
thought
to enhance the production of milk after delivery.
Sufferers of psoriasis may
consider taking
folic acid, people under stress or anyone consuming alcohol.
Women on birth control pills or
busy with
hormone replacement therapy may benefit from folic acid.
Localized deficiencies of folic
acid may
exist for smokers, as low levels have been detected in the lungs of
smokers.
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These statements
have not been
evaluated by the FDA. This information is for educational purposes
only.
This product is not
intended
to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.