The Truth About Vitamin B12 (or Should We Say All Vitamins Are Not Created Equally…)

The media newspapers often highlight the issue about B12 deficiency in the population so today we take a look in more detail at the issue, and explain why even though you may be taking B12 supplements they may not be effective.

What is B12?

• As human beings moved from a hunter gatherer lifestyle to one based on agriculture and grains, certain deficiencies in the diet came along.
• Early in the 20th century, the vitamins a group of water-soluble vitamins deemed to be critical to biological function were identified, the B vitamins.
• Vitamin B12 is one of the most well known. It exists in several forms and contains the mineral cobalt that's why they are called cobalmines.
• It is naturally present in some foods, like dairy, meat and seafood but unfortunately often non-existent in vegetarian or vegan foodstuffs .

Why is B12 Important to Nutrition? What does B12 do?

• Nerves, Brain  and Muscles- B12 vitamins are needed for healthy nerve conduction and muscle action. 
• Mood - They are needed for the synthesis of many important neurotransmitters, e.g.  happiness hormones serotonin & dopamine.
• Cell synthesis and growth - B12 helps make DNA (need we say more!)
• Heart - Evidence suggests B12 is beneficial for the heart. 
• Stress - B12 is known for helping with stress.

So what happens if you don't get enough B12?

The UK Government / NHS say a deficiency in B12 can cause a wide range of problems, including:

• anemia
• extreme tiredness
• a lack of energy
• pins and needles (paraesthesia)
• a sore and red tongue
• mouth ulcers
• muscle weakness
• disturbed vision
• psychological problems, which may include depression and confusion
• problems with memory, understanding and judgement

So what's the best way to supplement?

• One option some take is to get a B12 injection from their doctor.  Not only is this painful and hassle to organise (  not to mention that it is wasteful of your doctor's precious time) its completely unnecessary if you choose the right vitamin B12 supplement.

• Vitamin B12  supplements come in several forms. Unfortunately not all forms are equally effective. The most effective form is methylco­balamin. But, the most common form is cyanocobal­amin, because it is easier to manufacture and is therefore less expensive. 

• Unfortunately, the very common and inexpensive cyano­cobalamin form is difficult for the body to absorb, (has low bioavailability)  and the small amount that is absorbed usually fails to find into get into cells. As a result, unbelievably, many people who take large doses of cyano­cobalamin continue to be deficient in the vitamin! 

• A simple alternative is to take the methylcobalamin form in the first place, either swallowed in tablet form or sub- lingually. 

Meet Bespoke Biotics Vitamin B12 Methylcobalamin 1mg - a HIGH STRENGTH daily vitamin B12 supplement.

The founders of Bespoke Biotics were acutely aware that many people still had a B12 deficiency and had to have injections because they were using the wrong form of B12 supplement. They developed a high strength B12 supplement based on methyl cobalmine for  Very affordable price to secure your health. Check it out here on Amazon or here on our own website:

Will taking a higher strength dose of B12 cause you any harm?

• While we know having low vitamin B12 is debilitating and can cause severe non reversible neurological damage (like memory loss), since B12 is a water-soluble vitamin, it’s considered safe, even at the highest doses.
• Vitamin B12 has very low toxicity and no tolerable upper intake level (UL) has been established (UL) refers to the maximum daily dose of a vitamin unlikely to cause adverse side effects in the general population. 
• This is specially true for a food- based supplement, like our product.

 

Sample  Issues in which Vitamin B12 is said to have a Positive Impact

Because B12 is so critical in the human body it is found to be useful in many different conditions and syndromes. Wa.kaiserpermanente.org has collected many of these and we reproduced here to give you an idea of how widespread B12 can function in specific ailments. 

 

Celiac Disease (Vitamin B6, & Folic Acid)	Daily supplementation with a combination of vitamin B6 (3 mg), folic acid (0.8 mg), and vitamin B12 (0.5 mg) have been shown to help relieve depression in people with celiac disease.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome	Vitamin B12 deficiency may cause fatigue, but B12 has been reported benefits even without deficiency. A doctor should evaluate deficiency and whether B12 injections may help.
Osteoporosis & High Homocysteine	Homocystinuria, a condition associated with high homocysteine levels, frequently causes osteoporosis. By lowering homocysteine levels, vitamin B12 may help prevent osteoporosis.
Type 2 Diabetes and Diabetic Neuropathy	Vitamin B12 is needed for normal nerve cell function, and supplementing with it may improve symptoms of diabetic neuropathy.
Pain	Vitamin B12 appears to have pain-killing properties. In people with vertebral pain syndromes, injections of massive amounts of vitamin B12 have reportedly relieved pain
Tinnitus	Vitamin B12 injections may help reduce the severity of tinnitus in people who are deficient in the vitamin.