Over the past several decades, countless studies have been performed to test the effects of vitamin B12 on the human body – and researchers have discovered numerous health advantages as a result.
Here you’ll find more information on how this incredible vitamin can help you feel more energized, maintain your well-being and even prevent health problems down the road.
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin in the scientific and medical communities, is a vitamin that plays a vital role in the metabolism of every single cell in your body. In fact, of all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, vitamin B12 is one of most important.
And while vitamin B12 is only one of eight other B vitamins, it’s also the largest and most complex of its vitamin B companions. However, what’s most interesting about vitamin B12 is the fact that you can’t get this essential nutrient from anywhere else than through animal-based foods or nutritional supplements.
Because vitamin B12 can only be found in animal-based foods, many vegans (and even vegetarians) often find it difficult to keep their B12 levels in an optimal range. But vegans aren’t the only ones who struggle with their B12 levels, as a study from Tufts University pointed out more than a decade ago.
According to the study, 39 percent of participants – whose ages ranged from 26 to 83 – had vitamin B12 levels in their blood that were classified as “low normal” or “deficient”. What’s more, when researchers compared blood work among youngest and oldest participants, they didn’t find much of a difference in the numbers. This means that no matter how old you are, you could be vitamin B12 deficient.
An easy way to find out if you’re deficient in vitamin B12 is to have your doctor give you a blood test. But as many in the medical field are finding out, the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can develop long before your blood test shows you lack this essential nutrient, as one set of researchers discovered in 2013.
Knowing this, it’s important you know what to look for when it comes to the signs and symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency. Here are several of the most common:
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it may be time to consider taking a B12 supplement. Or at the very least, speak with your doctor about the possibility of a B12 deficiency.
There are plenty of great reasons to take a vitamin B12 supplement, especially if you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms. But is one method of getting vitamin B12 better than another? According to the Physician’s Desk Reference (NPPDR No. 18:676, 1997), the answer is yes.
In the Physician’s Desk Reference, data shows that how vitamin B12 is given to a patient plays an important role in its absorption. While pills, tablets, capsules and gel caps help your body absorb anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of vitamin B12 into your bloodstream, sublingual liquids have a bioavailability of 50 percent!
Here are a few more reasons to choose sublingual B12 vitamins for your health and wellness routine.
If you’re vitamin B12 deficient, your doctor might recommend having B12 shots or injections to help your body obtain the vital nutrient. However, between your doctor visit, co-pay and out-of-pocket expenses, getting a vitamin B12 injection can be costly, not to mention painful and invasive. Our Super B sublingual vitamin B12 supplement, on the other hand, costs less than $1 a day to keep your B12 levels in good shape – and you can take it with you anywhere, no doctor visits or painful injections required.
If you’re taking vitamin B12 tablets or pills, you should know that vitamin B12 will need to pass through your digestive tract and interact with your stomach acid before it absorbs. It should also be noted that if you have low stomach acid, or you take acid reducers, it’s even more difficult for vitamin B12 to work in your stomach.
Sublingual B12, however, enters your bloodstream through the mucous membrane under your tongue, meaning it bypasses the gastrointestinal tract and enters directly into your blood vessels. In this case, faster absorption means you’ll feel the effects much more quickly.
Vitamin B12 has shown promise in preventing issues in brain development and mood disorders, including Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia in elderly patients. In addition, studies on rats have demonstrated remarkable findings on vitamin B12’s role in helping to treat peripheral nerve injuries, as well as regenerating axons and promoting neuronal repair.
Having trouble getting enough sleep? Studies show that vitamin B12 can help you improve any sleep-wake cycle disorders you might be experiencing.
A randomized trial from 2013 showed that vitamin B12 supplements can have a significant impact on depression in people who struggle with the common mood disorder. Another added benefit? As far back as 2004, scientists discovered that vitamin B12 can improve physical performance and endurance, particularly if you’re vitamin B12 deficient.
For expecting mothers or women who think they may be pregnant, a clinical trial from 2016 showed that vitamin B12 supplements during and after pregnancy can significantly improve both the mother’s B12 status as well as the infant’s. Plus, it can even help add more B12 to breast milk during lactation.Now that you know the benefits of vitamin B12, it might be time to think about adding a sublingual B12 formula to your health regimen. For more information on vitamin B12 and its associated benefits, read our blog article on the impact vitamin B12 on reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s Disease.
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