You May Sleep Better At Night By Taking Vitamin B12 During The Day
As you age, it becomes more difficult to get a good night's sleep because your body becomes less efficient at making this vitamin - taking this can help fix the problem while also boosting your energy, improving your mood and memory...
Many experts previously believed that strict vegetarians were the primary group that could develop a vitamin B12 deficiency. If you had adequate stores of this important nutrient in your body, the experts believed you were “safe” for many years from developing a B12 deficiency.
Now we know better.
Vitamin B12 deficiency and depletion are much more common than previously thought, especially in the over-60 population. In fact, it's believed that almost one in four people over 60 have deficient levels of this vital vitamin.
Equally disturbing are emerging signs that other age groups harbor suboptimal blood levels of B12 as well.
Why is vitamin B12 deficiency such a big deal?
Your body depends on vitamin B12 for a host of functions, including…
Helping to maintain normal energy levels*
Promoting healthy neurological activity, including mental alertness*
Supporting normal homocysteine levels for healthy cardiac function*
Helping to ease occasional stress and sleeplessness*
Maintaining healthy cell growth and repair*
Promoting normal immune function*
Supporting normal metabolism of carbohydrates and fats*
When your blood levels of vitamin B12 are low, one or more of these functions may be disrupted.*
Without adequate blood levels of B12, you can experience symptoms related to low energy, mental fatigue, mood changes, sleep difficulties, and even occasional indigestion.*
Your body relies on the efficient conversion of carbohydrates to glucose – your body's source of fuel – just like your car needs to be able to use gas to run smoothly. Vitamin B12 plays a major role in that conversion in your body.* Likewise, B12 enables your body to convert fatty acids into energy as well.*
Contrary to what you might have heard, there's really no solid evidence that supplemental vitamin B12 helps you lose weight.
Overall, vitamin B12 is a nutrient your body cannot do without for efficient, healthy metabolism of fats and carbohydrates.*
How You Get Vitamin B12 Deficient
The older you get the more likely you are to have a vitamin B12 deficiency. The two ways that you become deficient in vitamin B12 are from not getting enough in your diet and from losing the ability to absorb it.
I recently visited India which is primarily a vegetarian based culture and current studies there show about 80% of the adults are deficient in vitamin B12. However, vegans are not the only ones who can become vitamin B12 deficient.
The older you get the more your digestive system breaks down, especially if you have been following the standard American diet. Specifically the lining of your stomach gradually loses its ability to produce hydrochloric acid which releases vitamin B12 from your food. The use of antacids or anti-ulcer drugs will also lower your stomach acid secretion and decrease your ability to absorb vitamin B12. Infection with Helicobactor pylori, a common contributor to stomach ulcers, can also result in vitamin B12 deficiency.
However the main cause of vitamin B12 deficiency is a term researchers call food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome. Cobalamin is the scientific term for vitamin B12. This typically results when your stomach lining loses its ability to produce intrinsic factor which is a protein that binds to vitamin B12 and allows your body to absorb it at the end of your small intestine.NEW Form of Vitamin B12 Not Found in Most HealthFood and Vitamin StoresIf you often feel tired, run-down, and lacking in energy, you're not alone. Low energy is one of our country's biggest health complaints.Some of the top reasons for this are: Refined foods sold in grocery stores are depleted of vital nutrients...Refined foods are loaded with sugar...Refined foods are full of chemicals...Refined foods are overloaded with food colorings; and...Refined foods are loaded with preservatives......but it doesn't stop there, either. Add the harmful effects of caffeine, pollution, conventional therapies, and the stress most of us experience every day... and you've got yourself a recipe for energy drain.Now, of course, powering up with extra energy is just one of B12's many health benefits.*
But you need to...Make Sure Your Vitamin B12 Is Made from This...Otherwise, you could be wasting your time. How could that be?Well, the answer simply put is… not all types of B12 (cobalamins) are created equal.There are generally three main types of cobalamins used in B12 supplements…
Hydroxycobalamin
Cyanocobalamin
Methylcobalamin
Even though cyanocobalamin B12 is probably the most popular form of B12 in supplements, I don't believe it's the most effective. That distinction goes to methycobalamin (methyl B12).And methyl B12 is the cobalamin compound of choice because…Studies suggest that methyl B12 may be better utilized and retained in the body.*
Methyl B12 is the active form of vitamin B12 and evidence indicates it has some applications not shared by other forms of vitamin B12.*With other forms of B12, your body must convert them into a coenzyme form for you to benefit. Not so with methyl B12… it's already in the active coenzyme form naturally in your body.*
What Critical Health Benefits Does this Vitamin Bring to the Table?For starters, vitamin B12 helps folic acid regulate the formation of red blood cells, and helps your body use iron.*
In addition, it is also needed for proper digestion, food absorption, carbohydrate and fat metabolism.*
It also helps keep your nervous system healthy by assisting the nerves of your body to function and communicate in an optimal manner.*
But that's not all... far from it!B12 also helps in cell formation and cellular longevity.*
Plus, it can support female reproductive health, and promote normal nerve growth and development by maintaining the fatty sheaths.*
These fatty sheaths play a vital role as they cover and protect your nerve endings.*
What's more, this workhorse of a micronutrient is critical to your circulation and adrenal hormone production -- plus, it helps boost your immunity.*
And, oh yes, let's not forget...Vitamin B12 supports a healthy mood and feelings of well-being.*
And then there's this -- it also provides excellent support for your memory, mental clarity, and concentration.*Aside from using B12 to give you an energy boost, when does it also make sense to supplement with this all-important vitamin? Well, there are several good reasons to take vitamin B12 .And the first reason to take it is if you are a carb type or a strict vegetarian.
If You Avoid Meat, You Probably Need to Take B12
Many people avoid red meats for a large variety of reasons. If you are one of them, you are at a high risk for developing vitamin B12 deficiency. Why? Because plant sources have virtually no vitamin B12. And oral forms of B12 in nearly all supplements arepractically useless, as little is absorbed into your bloodstream.
Vegetarians should take this essential micronutrient to ensure an adequate supply of it,because it is found almost exclusively in animal tissues. And, the few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs -- not the form that provides all the benefits of the real deal.
Simply put, an analog is a substance that blocks the uptake of true B12. The result being, your body's need for the nutrient actually increases.
Furthermore, your body's need for this nutrient may also increase if you take Metformin©. Metformin may interfere with calcium metabolism. And this interference may reduce B12 absorption, because this absorption requires calcium.
Studies suggest that 10% to 30% of patients taking Metformin show evidence of reduced vitamin B12 absorption. That's why it is important to speak with your doctor to discuss the best way to maintain B12 levels when taking this medication.
Now, if getting a good night's sleep has also become increasingly more difficult for you, here's...
What Your Sleeping Difficulties May Be Trying to Tell You!
If you suffer from sleeping difficulties, I recommend taking vitamin B12 during the day. Here's why.
B12 plays a vital role in melatonin production.* Melatonin has been called "the sleep hormone" because it is responsible for letting you get a good night's sleep.
As you age, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get a good night's sleep because your body becomes less efficient at making this hormone. And that's why it's a good idea to take B12 to help you sleep like a baby each night.*
Moreover, a vitamin B12 deficiency can have other annoying consequences too.
Do You or a Loved One Experience Any of the Following?
Not many know it, but if you or a family member experience:
Tiredness and feelings of weakness...*
Less-than-optimal nervous system functioning...*
Less-than-optimal eye health...*
Loss of appetite and unintended weight loss...*
Occasional constipation and gas...*
Feelings of mild moodiness...*
Less-than-optimal memory...*
A tendency toward nervousness...*
Less-than-optimal balance...*
Less-than-optimal liver or heart health...*
Premature grey hair...*
Occasional digestive issues...*
...you may need to supplement with vitamin B12, even if you eat foods rich in B12. Oddly enough, that wasn't a typo.
You can eat plenty of meat, poultry, lamb's liver, brewer's yeast, clams, eggs, herring, mackerel, kidneys, milk, dairy products, or seafood -- and still have low levels of B12. How can that be?
It could be because your body is unable to absorb it from your gut. You see B12 needs the help of a protein in order to be absorbed. That protein is called intrinsic factor. And because the lining of your stomach makes intrinsic factor, people with less-than-optimal gastrointestinal health often need to supplement with B12.*
Likewise, most people over the age of 50 have a limited ability to absorb B12, too. Thus, the need for supplementation.
Here's the REAL TRUTH about the B12 in Most Multivitamins:
It all boils down to this...
Most of them contain 100-200 micrograms of B12. But, if you actually took 500 micrograms of B12, you'd get an absorption of about 1.8 micrograms. Let me repeat, only 1.8 out of a total of 500 micrograms. That's an absorption rate of only one third of one percent! But, that's only half of the story.
The late Victor Herbert, a renowned B12 researcher, said that many multivitamin products on the market today contain dangerous B12 analogs.
In other words, analogs get created when crystalline B12 interacts with other nutrients in multivitamin products, such as vitamin C, iron and copper -- increasing your body's need for B12. Does the company selling the multivitamin tell you this vital bit of information? Probably not!