You may have heard a great deal of buzz over the importance of Vitamin D in the last few years. Recently, however, Vitamin B has also been receiving its fair share of the attention. Every cell in your body is impacted by Vitamin B. Your body’s organs must have sufficient vitamin B in order to carry out many critical functions.
Methylation, or the process by which DNA and protein are created and maintained in our bodies is dependent on the B vitamins. Additionally, studies have shown that your homocysteine levels go up when your B levels go down. This can lead to a number of health concerns including heart disease. Mood regulation and brain function also requires the presence of Vitamin B.
It is now believed that a full 60% of the American population has low levels of vitamin B. We know that certain groups of people are at extremely high risk. They are: drinkers, smokers, vegetarians, vegans and people over 65. Even if you do not fall into one of these groups you should still be concerned. Thanks to the fact that we consume so much processed food, just about everyone should be concerned with vitamin b. In fact, experts believe that even though you may not yet be experiencing b12 deficiency symptoms you should still take a high doss supplement, such as B-50.
Some individuals need more than an oral supplement according to James Gordon, MD. Gordon, a professor of psychiatry at Georgetown Medial School, says that very often high dose b 12 shots are enough to make a significant impact a patient’s health. “Often it helps as part of the bigger picture and every once in a while it turns out to be the magic bullet.”
It is a good idea to speak with your physician about your vitamin B levels. Just make sure that they are on top of the changes! Just two years ago it was believed that a b12 blood level of 200 was ok, and now we know that 800 is what is ideal.
