Vit B

The vit b complex consists of eight water soluble vitamins. The B vitamins work together to boost metabolism, enhance the immune system and nervous system, keep the skin and muscles healthy, encourage cell growth and division, and other benefits to your body. Brewer’s yeast is one of the best sources of the B vitamins.

The benefits of vit b are great:

– Ease Stress
– Treat anxiety and depression
– Aid memory
– Relieve PMS
– Reduce heart-disease risk

The 11 members of what’s known as the vitamin B complex are critical nutrients for all things mind-related: mood, memory, even migraines can benefit from the B’s. In the right amounts, the B’s can quell anxiety, lift depression, ease PMS, and boost your energy. And getting them couldn’t be easier.

The B vitamins are a chemically related family of nutrients that work as a team. Their mood-boosting and other health benefits (see chart below) result from intricate behind-the-scenes work in the body.

Some B vitamins help cells burn fats and glucose for energy. Others help make neurotransmitters like serotonin. And some B’s assist with the production and repair of DNA.

Many of us don’t get enough B’s; according to the USDA, deficiencies in folic acid, B12, and B6 are especially common. Ensuring that your diet contains plenty of B-rich foods — dark-green vegetables, protein from animal sources, and whole grains — is critical.

But if your stress level is high or your mood feels off-kilter, or if your diet is low in B’s, you’ll benefit from the higher amounts found in supplements.

B complex has a wide range of properties, including:-

B1 (thiamine) – needed for release of energy from carbohydrates; aids in functioning of nervous system; helps maintain stomach acidity and normal appetite.

B2 (riboflavin) – needed for converting proteins, fats and carbohydrates into energy; necessary for healthy skin and eyes.

B3 (niacin) – needed for release of energy from food; maintains health of skin, mouth and digestive tract; necessary for normal mental function; can increase circulation and reduce high blood pressure.

B5 (pantothenic acid) – needed for release of energy from food; helps in the functioning of the adrenal gland and in the formation of antibodies.

B6 (pyridoxine) – needed for metabolism of protein, hence requirements related to protein intake; helps to maintain fluid balance, a requirement for healthy red blood cells.

B12 – needed for red blood cell production and maintenance of protective sheath around nerves.

Folic acid – Essential for growth and reproduction of cells, particularly red blood cells.

Biotin – involved in carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.  Required for healthy skin and hair.

Oral or sublingual B complex, there seems to be no difference in overall benefit
It is important to take a B complex sublingually or is an oral pill good enough?

A single-center, double-blinded, randomized controlled study to evaluate the relative efficacy of sublingual and oral vitamin B-complex administration in reducing total serum homocysteine levels.
J Altern Complement Med. 2006. Yazaki Y, Mattie M. College of Naturopathic Medicine, University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT.
This study is designed to evaluate the relative efficacy of sublingual versus orally delivered vitamin B complex in reducing serum homocysteine levels. Forty-one subjects, between the ages of 50 and 80 years with total serum homocysteine concentrations exceeding 11 micromol/L, were treated with a six-week regimen of vitamin B complex. Each B complex consisted of 1000 microg vitamin B12 (as methylcobalamin), 400 microgram folate (as folic acid), and 5 mg vitamin B6 (as pyridoxine HCl). Participants in the study were randomized into two groups designated, retrospectively, as sublingual and PO. Members of group sublingual were given a sublingually delivered vitamin B complex and a matching orally delivered placebo. Members of group PO were given an orally delivered vitamin complex and a matching sublingually delivered placebo. A significant reduction in homocysteine values was observed in both groups upon completion of the 6-week protocol. There was no significant difference in serum homocysteine concentrations between sublingual vitamin B and oral vitamin B groups either before or after treatment.