B-complex

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Why A Vitamin B-Complex Is Important – InVite^Ⓡ Health Podcast, Episode 476

Hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH

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InVite Health Podcast Intro: Welcome to the InVite^Ⓡ Health Podcast, where our degreed healthcare professionals are excited to offer you the most important health and wellness information you need to make informed choices about your health. You can learn more about the products discussed in each of these episodes and all that InVite^Ⓡ Health has to offer at www.invitehealth.com/podcast. First time customers can use promo code PODCAST at checkout for an additional 15% off your first purchase. Let’s get started!†

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Amanda Williams, MPH: B-vitamins are oftentimes only associated as energy vitamins. I want to talk today about the true importance of taking a B-complex and all of the different functions that our body relies on those individual B-vitamins for when it comes to everyday functionality in the body. Remember, your B-vitamins are water soluble, so it is certainly possible that just from your diet alone and just from the clearance of those B-vitamins, that your body doesn’t have enough storage form and that they’re quickly washed out. This is why taking a B-complex is incredibly advantageous for multiple reasons, besides that of energy.†

I am Amanda Williams, MD, MPH and when we think about B-vitamins, most people immediately think, “Ok, yes, energy and Vitamin B12.” We know that indeed B12 is certainly associated with energy production in the body, but we have to realize that the different B-vitamins are playing essential and numerous fundamental and critical roles throughout the body.†

You can look at B1, this is thiamine. We know that this is very essential when it comes to converting food into energy. This plays a really important role when it comes to metabolism. But we also recognize that Vitamin B1 plays an essential and key role when it comes to targeting glycation in the body. This works via transketolase, so the more that we can have activation of the transketolase enzyme, the better off our body can do when it comes to targeting glycation. As you see here, the B1, we’re not thinking anything about energy. We’re thinking about cellular support and we are thinking about protecting the cell from excess glucose damage.†

Then we look at Vitamin B2, which is riboflavin. We know that this helps to convert nutrients into energy and it also yields its own antioxidant activity, which is always interesting. When you think about B-vitamins, most people don’t correlate their antioxidant powers. Most people, when you think about an antioxidant vitamin, you’re thinking Vitamin C or Vitamin E. But we know that our B-vitamins also play this very important role in the body.†

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Then we have niacin, which is Vitamin B3. This plays a very critical role in DNA repair and different cell signaling pathways, as well as metabolism. Cardiovascular health in particular, we know that niacin plays a very critical role.†

Then we look at pantothenic acid, which is Vitamin B5. This is integral when we think about different hormones, so for the production of hormones, as well as for that conversion of food into energy. So you can kind of see this pattern where yes, the B-vitamins do help with energy, but they’re also playing these very important roles.†

Then we have Vitamin B6, which is pyridoxine and pyridoxine helps to metabolize amino acids and also is essential when it comes to the production of neurotransmitters, as well as your red blood cells.†

Then we think of biotin. When most people think of biotin, they think about your hair and your fingernails, for example. But we know that biotin actually plays a very essential role when it comes to regulating gene expression and it is definitely required when it comes to metabolism of both fats as well as carbohydrates in the body.†

Then we look at Vitamin B9, which is folic acid. We know that this is essential for cellular growth. This is also key when it comes to amino acid metabolism in the body, as well as when we think of that production once again of both our red as well as white blood cells. And cellular division, when it comes to the way in which we develop as humans, so even when we think about fetal growth, Vitamin B9, which is folic acid, is critical in that step.†

And then we have B12, which is our cobalamin or methylcobalamin. This is very important when it comes to neurological function. Oftentimes we just think about B12 in that setting of energy and part of that reason why we think about it for energy is because it plays a very important and critical role when it comes to the development of our red blood cells for the carrying of oxygenation throughout the system. We can see when it comes to DNA production in the body, when it comes to balancing homocysteine, Vitamin B12 is critical to this. And we also know that when we are using the activated form of that B12, that is very important when it comes to neurological or brain function itself.†

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Then you have inositol. Now, inositol is not technically a B-vitamin, but we have this as part of our B-complex formulation, our B-Complex 100, because we know that inositol itself is certainly essential when it comes to calcium and insulin transduction in the body.†

So you start to look at all the different ways in which your B-vitamins are playing a key role far beyond that of just energy production. When we think about our vision, folate certainly is a huge player in this. Folate deficiencies have been associated with close to a 90% higher risk for the development of age-related macular degeneration. So most people, you think of folate, you’re not probably thinking about your eyes, but we do know that this is why taking a multi Vitamin B-complex such as the B-Complex 100 is so very, very important.†

When we have to get that exposure to niacin or Vitamin B3, nicotinamide, for example, we know that this is important when it comes to skin health and when it comes to ATP production. We know that, oftentimes, the UV-induced damage to our cellular DNA oftentimes can be irreversible. If we have adequate amounts of niacin on board, this can help to offset this.†

You start to compose all of the different ways your B-vitamins… You can see how brain atrophy is associated with low B-vitamin intake, which means the shrinking of the brain. We can see how mood disorders, depression as well as anxiety, are directly correlated with inadequate utilization of things like Vitamin B6, as well as folate and B12.†

And, of course, we never want to forget the fact that there are many different medications that can disrupt the absorption of the B12 or B6 or the folic acid that perhaps you’re getting in terms of your dietary intake, but your medication’s actually blocking the absorption. Metformin is a key one for this, so that’s the most commonly prescribed medication for diabetics and we know that that interferes with the absorption of Vitamin B12. Just think about that for a moment. You have a diabetic. They’re taking Metformin, then their B12 levels start to diminish and we know that B12 is very critical when it comes to nervous system health. You think of diabetics, what’s one thing that they’re at risk for? Diabetic neuropathy. This is why when we think in that scope of why do we need B-vitamins, you can start to connect a lot of these dots.†

We can look at how people with certain dietary routines can kind of march down that path towards B-vitamin deficiencies. People who are vegetarians or vegans, for example, certainly at risk for B12 deficiency. We can look at those who consume an awful lot of alcohol. That can start to deplete your Vitamin B1, that thiamine level. We know that there is a significant component to which B-vitamins play this critical role when we look at our immune system, when we look at DNA and RNA synthesis and repair, when we think about neurotransmitter and hormonal pathways, as well as healthy DNA methylation. At the end of the day, taking a B-complex makes a lot of sense because you can start to see all of the different systems and pathways to which B-12 is critical each and every single day. This is why we want to think outside of that box of just energy. Of course, we can always be utilizing a B-complex for that thought process alone, but we also have to recognize all of the other ways in which B-vitamins are essential and critical within our body, each and every single day and we want to make sure that we are supporting that with a good, comprehensive B-complex that’s going to give you an adequate amount of those B-vitamins and hence that’s where the B-Complex 100 comes into play.†

I want to thank you so much for tuning into the InVite^Ⓡ Health Podcast. Remember, you can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting invitehealth.com/podcast. Do make sure that you subscribe and you leave us a review. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @invitehealth and we will see you next time for another episode of the InVite^Ⓡ Health Podcast.†

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