The B vitamins are also known as the “happy vitamins” or – the “cope-ability vitamins”. The B Complex vitamin usually delivers eight of the B vitamins: B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folic acid), and B12 (cobalamin). The most important thing to remember is that all B vitamins should be taken together in a “Complex” form. Taking them separately can cause imbalances.
B vitamins are destroyed by light, intense heat, slow cooking, baking soda and baking powder. In addition, sugar, alcohol, caffeine, sulfa drugs, sleeping pills, infections, estrogen, and stress all destroy B vitamins. It is found naturally in leafy greens, dairy, beans, peas, and whole or fortified grains. B Complex supplements are water-soluble and do not stay in the body for long, thus, need to be taken through the day.
The most effective way to tell whether you have adequate B vitamins in your system at any given time is to check to see if your urine is bright clear, almost fluorescent yellow. The B2 causes the color but it ensures that you have enough B Complex in your body. You want evidence 24 hours a day that your level of B vitamins are 100% to maintain proper balance. Since the use of B vitamins varies drastically each day based on stress (emotional, physical & chemical), how much sleep you’ve had, your dietary intake, etc., and since only a slight deficiency can cause metabolic and blood chemistry imbalances in the body, you always want clear evidence of slight overflow.
B vitamins are essential to many reactions in your body that convert food and fats into energy. B Complex aids in digestion and is chiefly responsible for the health of the digestive tract, the skin, mouth, tongue, eyes, nerves, arteries, and liver. B Complex vitamins help the body metabolize carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and hormones and help in tissue formation, normal growth, and development. It forms red blood cells, produces productive antibodies and helps bring balance to many systems in the body. It is frequently recommended for nerve injuries and carpal tunnel syndrome and is necessary for normal functioning of the nervous system. B vitamins can regulate homocysteine levels in the blood, and help clear arteries for cardio patients. B vitamins help support adrenal function, help calm and maintain a healthy nervous system, and are necessary for key metabolic processes.
Folic acid in the B Complex is critical to maintaining good health. The body needs it to make new cells. Up to 75 percent of serious birth defects of the spine and brain could be prevented if women consumed adequate daily amounts of folate in their diets, especially in the crucial months before pregnancy. The Shaklee corporation incorporates folic acid into the coating of the B Complex making it more accessible to the body and providing the minimum of 400 mcg per day with 2 tablets a day. You will see uniform quantities rounded off in the ingredient list when it is not derived from food. When it is food based the amounts of the eight B vitamins listed on the label should be a variety of numbers.
If you are deficient in B Complex then you will feel tired, irritable, nervous, or even depressed. People deficient in B vitamins quickly become anemic, are nervous, do not sleep well (insomnia), crave sweets, and have high cholesterol levels. B Complex alleviates PMS, menopausal symptoms and morning sickness. A slight deficiency can cause abnormal heart action, constipation, and mental depression, even suicidal tendencies. Gray hair, falling hair, baldness, acne or other skin problems indicate a lack of B vitamins. As do cracks at the corner of the mouth, tender gums, burning feet, burning and dry eyes. It is even used to control migraine headaches, improve cases of shingles, and postoperative nausea and vomiting (resulting from anesthesia) and it is essential in calming hyperactivity in children.
Make Vitamin B a priority in your day and you will notice a difference in your health.
To your good health.
Charlene
