Recently, biologists noticed a mysterious problem at salmon hatcheries in California. Fish were acting disoriented and dying much faster than normal.
At first, the researchers suspected a virus. However, after spending hours sifting through the medical literature, they learned that a deficiency in one of the B vitamins – thiamin – could have similar effects.
The biologists put the theory to test and added thiamin to the water of one batch of fish. Within hours nearly all of the fish in the treated water were acting normally again, while those in the untreated water continued to decline.
Unfortunately, salmon aren’t the only creatures suffering from low level of thiamin.
Researchers are discovering that this ominous vitamin deficiency is widespread, causing illness and death in birds, invertebrates and possibly mammals. It may even be responsible for wildlife decline.
Why is this happening? Scientists suspect some unexplained process may be affecting the Earth’s food web by depleting ecosystems of this crucial nutrient.
Because it appears to be an ecosystem-wide problem – and this essential B vitamin originates in the lowest levels of the food chain – humans are also very likely to be at risk of deficiency.
This isn’t just an issue with thiamin. Affecting everything from your energy and metabolism to your immune health, heart and brain, the core family of B vitamins work together to support your overall well-being.
Having low levels of just one B vitamin can impact the actions – and benefits – of the others. And you don’t even need to have a full-blown deficiency. Just having low levels of a single nutrient can affect how you feel.
Are You Running Low on B Vitamins?
So how do you know if this mysterious vitamin B deficiency may be affecting you? You may be running low in any of the B vitamins if you…
-
Struggle to get a good night’s rest.
-
Sometimes forget people’s names.
-
Feel more tired than normal.
-
Experience mood swings and irritability.
-
Feel like you’re in a mental “fog”.
-
Notice numbness or tingling in your fingers and toes.
-
Detect a loss of muscle mass and strength.
-
Experience joint or muscle discomfort.
-
Have dry, cracking skin.
-
Experience occasional headaches.
-
Have unexplained gastrointestinal symptoms.
These are just a few of the first signs of low levels of one or more B vitamins. Because the vitamin B complex affects so many body systems, the complete list of symptoms is a long one.
Who Is Most at Risk for a Vitamin B Deficiency?
Fresh, whole foods, like meat, fish, dairy and whole grains, provide B vitamins, but this ecosystem-wide deficiency and other factors, such as deteriorating food quality, can affect the amount you actually receive.
Beyond that, certain groups of people are more likely to have a deficiency or suboptimal levels of one or more B vitamins, including those who…
-
Regularly drink alcohol, as alcohol inhibits thiamin absorption.
-
Suffer with gut issues, as the entire B complex is produced within your gut.
-
Are low in magnesium, as magnesium is required for the conversion of thiamin.
-
Avoid animal products, as these are the major source of vitamin B12.
-
Drink more than four cups of coffee each day, as excess consumption may increase the loss of B vitamins in your urine.
-
Consume a diet high in refined carbs and sugars, as thiamin is used up in the metabolism of glucose.
-
Restrict or avoid eating dairy and whole grains, which provide B vitamins.
-
Are older, as your ability to produce intrinsic factor to aid in absorption decreases.
B vitamins in general aren’t absorbed well. And when you add in one or more of the above factors, you can easily put yourself at risk for low levels or a deficiency.
Could there possibly be a connection between the signs of deficiency and today’s declining food values as well as processed and limited food diets?
Why You Can’t Live Without B Vitamins
Like a well-oiled machine, the B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6) and methylcobalamin (B12) work together to support energy production and the health of your brain, liver, muscle, nervous and immune systems, skin and eyes.*
Unlike the fat-soluble vitamins A and D, excess amounts of most of the B vitamins aren’t stored in your body. Rather, if not immediately needed, they pass through your body in your urine.
Vitamin B12 is the one exception to this rule. While excess amounts of it also pass through your body the same as other B vitamins, B12 can be stored in your liver as needed for up to four years.
This means you must get the entire B complex of vitamins every day, including B12, to support the following body systems and functions:
-
Metabolism – B vitamins act as coenzymes and play a key role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein and fat. They’re also important for appetite and digestion.*
-
Brain and nervous system function – B vitamins are important for memory and cognitive health, mood and the production of neurotransmitters.*
-
Cardiovascular health – B vitamins promote healthy blood flow in your blood vessels throughout your body and brain.*
-
Immune function – B vitamins are vitally important for optimal immune function through their actions on your innate immunity.
-
Energy production and mitochondrial health – B vitamins are essential for the production of energy from food and for mitochondrial respiration.*
-
Cellular, organ, muscle and tissue health – B vitamins help keep your skin, eyes, muscles, the lining of your gut and your blood cells healthy.*
Let’s take a closer look at just a few of these critical functions…
Take Control of Your Metabolism with B Vitamins
B vitamins act as enzyme cofactors that play a key role in turning food into energy through the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein and fat.
A faster metabolism burns calories sooner than a slower metabolism, so a brisk metabolism can be your best friend in controlling your weight. As you age, your metabolism naturally slows down.
Ideally, you want the nutrients from the food you eat to be metabolized to fuel your body instead of being stored as fat. These B vitamins help your metabolism function optimally:
-
Thiamin plays an important role in converting carbohydrates and fats into glucose, which is a main source of fuel for your body.* Whenever you eat simple carbohydrates or sugars that your body turns into glucose, you automatically need more thiamin to process it.
-
Riboflavin is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrate, protein and fat, and helps your body absorb the other B vitamins.*
-
Vitamin B6 helps you metabolize protein and your body balance sodium and potassium, so it’s important not only for your metabolism, but your tissue and organ function, including your heart.*
-
Vitamin B12, found only in animal products, such as meat, dairy and eggs, supports a healthy metabolism and your ability to manage your weight.*
If you do run low on any of these major B vitamins, your metabolism can’t function at its best and make managing your weight a challenge.
And whenever you eat simple carbohydrates or sugars that turn into glucose in your body, you automatically need more thiamin to handle its metabolism.
Why Your Brain Needs B Vitamins
When you have a limited supply of B vitamins, your central nervous system can be the first to be affected. Mental fogginess and forgetfulness are two of the most common red flags that you may not be getting enough.*
All of the B vitamins are important for brain and nerve cells, but some stand out for their role in supporting memory, cognitive health and brain performance: thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.*
Thiamin is well known for supporting positive moods and promoting brain function, especially concentration, memory and reaction time.*
Niacin may help protect brain cells from stress and injury, support joint and metabolic health, and healthy blood lipid levels.*
Vitamin B6 helps create neurotransmitters, which are important chemical messengers in your brain, and helps regulate your brain’s use of energy – essential for cognition and memory.*
Vitamin B12 helps convert homocysteine into methionine, an important building block for proteins, and it helps protect against the loss of neurons in your brain while also supporting mood.*
In regards to niacin, some researchers now believe that certain individuals need more niacin on a regular basis. They may need ultra-high doses just to remain well.
It’s estimated that one in four American adults are deficient in vitamin B12, and nearly half the population may have blood levels considered too low.
A vitamin B12 deficiency can exist for years under the radar without causing symptoms. By the time you start noticing its classic signs of fatigue, mental “fog”, forgetfulness, mood swings and muscle weakness, you can be significantly deficient.
Could B Vitamins Help Your Mood and Sleep?
Surprisingly, researchers have observed that vitamin B deficiency signs can resemble mental health symptoms.
B vitamins play an important role in supporting the:
-
Production and function of neurotransmitters.*
-
Maintenance of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding your nerve cells.*
-
Healthy communication between brain and nerve cells.*
-
Synthesis and breakdown of brain chemicals involved in mood control.*
Adequate B vitamins, especially vitamins B6 and B12, are important for getting a good night’s rest. Vitamin B6 not only aids sleep but also affects your dreams. A recent study found that B6 may even help you remember your dreams.
Vitamin B6 also helps your body produce the hormones serotonin and melatonin – both important sleep hormones that contribute to deep, restful sleep and a positive mood. A deficiency in B6 is linked to psychological distress and sleep disturbance.
Also an important sleep and mood vitamin, B12 may help your sleep patterns by regulating your sleep-wake cycles and keeping your circadian rhythms in sync.
Finally, studies show that vitamin B complex can help your muscles relax, contributing to a restful night’s sleep.
One more research finding? The longer you sleep, the more B vitamins you need.
Why It’s Better to Take a Vitamin B Complex Instead of Individual B Vitamins
While we’ve talked about individual B vitamins, the solution isn’t supplementing with just one or two B vitamins.
Evidence shows that supplementing with the core group of B vitamins can be far more beneficial.*
Vitamins don’t exist as isolated compounds in nature. They depend on their co-factors and coenzymes to interact with other vitamins. This is particularly true for B vitamins, as their coenzymes are involved in all the metabolic processes in your body.
And because you need them in the right proportions to each other, I recommend a vitamin B complex rather than individual B vitamins.
You need to know that B vitamins can be very fragile. They are susceptible to damage from sources such as heat, light, oxygen, acid and alkaline solutions, as well as storage.
-
Thiamin is especially sensitive to heat, oxygen, humidity, light and alkaline pH.
-
Riboflavin is sensitive to humidity and light.
-
Vitamin B5 is sensitive to heat and humidity.
-
Vitamin B6 is very sensitive to heat, and sensitive to humidity, light and acid pH.
-
Vitamin B12 is sensitive to heat, oxygen, humidity, and contact with iron and copper.
The B vitamins most at risk of losing their vitamin activity are in this order (from worst to best): Vitamin B6, Thiamin, Vitamin B12, Niacin and Riboflavin.
Now in Delicious Liquid Form for Convenience and Fast Absorption
Many people just aren’t getting the B vitamins they need for optimal health – both physical and mental. It’s not always easy to get enough and to be able to absorb and utilize it properly.
We know older individuals can’t absorb nutrients as well because of declining levels of intrinsic factor in their guts.
If you’re taking a multivitamin now, you’re likely getting a baseline level of B vitamins. From there, I recommend a vitamin B complex for added assurance, especially if you fall into one of the higher risk groups mentioned earlier.
Our Liquid Vitamin B Complex is a simple, easy way to help make sure you get enough of each of the major B vitamins in their ideal proportions – Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, and Vitamins B5, B6 and B12.
Vitamin B12 is supplied as Methylcobalamin, a highly absorbable form of B12 and superior to the typically used cyanocobalamin.
This liquid formula means that there are no large pills or capsules to swallow, and you get fast absorption.
Instead, you simply pour a couple of teaspoons and enjoy the silky smooth, pleasant citrusy flavor, which is lightly sweetened with only glycerin and organic apple juice concentrate.
Best of all, each serving contains 0 grams of total sugars, so it fits in perfectly with low carb or ketogenic diets.
Ensure You’re Getting Enough Key B Vitamins with Liquid Vitamin B Complex
It’s no secret we have a trifecta of factors in play today – a mysterious thiamin deficiency impacting the entire food chain and multiple assaults on your gut health due to everyday living and limiting some of the best sources of vitamin B in your diet, such as grains, leafy greens, dairy and meat.
Without enough of the essential B vitamins, your metabolism, brain and nervous system health, mood, sleep cardiovascular and immune health, cells, muscles and overall well-being can suffer.
Your body and brain are too important to risk low levels of the major B vitamins, especially when there’s a simple way of ensuring you get enough each day.
Take Control of Your Health®, and order our thoughtfully-formulated, easy-to-take Liquid Vitamin B Complex today.