Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is crucial to maintaining physical and emotional health. This water-soluble vitamin provides benefits at the cellular level in your brain, heart, blood, and nervous system.
You can achieve your daily recommended intake of B12 by consuming animal products like meat, poultry, and eggs. It’s also available through oral supplements and foods enriched with B12.
Having a B12 deficiency can affect many aspects of your well-being. Our team at NuvidaRx Weight Loss in Tallahassee, Florida, specializes in the use of B12 injections for better health. B12 injections deliver the vitamin directly into your bloodstream to ensure that none of its properties are lost through the digestion process.
After a thorough examination, your provider can determine whether you’re consuming enough B12 and will recommend the best way for you to establish and maintain adequate levels.
If you’re not convinced about the importance of B12, consider some of the benefits that this vitamin can provide.
You may have a B12 deficiency if you constantly feel lethargic and fatigued despite getting quality sleep.
B12 supports the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen to your cells so they can produce energy. Without adequate red blood cell production, you’re likely to experience low energy and problems with concentration.
Vitamin B12 helps your body metabolize fat more effectively and promotes the removal of fat through your liver. Vitamin B12 can help accelerate weight loss in a comprehensive, supervised weight loss program that includes a healthy diet and exercise.
Vitamin B12 helps maintain synchronized circadian rhythms, the 24-hour cycles that influence your internal clock. These patterns affect natural body functions, including blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature.
Without adequate levels of B12, you are more likely to experience sleep disruptions that can affect your ability to function normally. Research indicates that B12 is linked to healthy, productive sleep-wake cycles with a normal sleep duration of about seven to eight hours per night.
Vitamin B12 may help prevent and reduce symptoms of depression. While the exact relationship isn’t fully understood, the effect of B12 on depression is likely related to the important role this vitamin plays in synthesizing and metabolizing serotonin, a natural mood-regulating chemical.
Research indicates that having a vitamin B12 deficiency may double your risk of depression. Taking B12 shots may contribute to the management of mood, depression, and stress in individuals with a B12 deficiency.
In a comparison between migraine sufferers and healthy individuals with similar demographics, researchers found that those who experienced migraines were more likely to have significantly lower B12 levels than the healthy subjects.
Generally, individuals who had the highest B12 levels had an 80% lower risk of having migraines versus those individuals with the lowest B12 levels. Patients with most significant deficiencies had a five times greater risk of having migraines than those with normal B12 levels.
Having a vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with high levels of the amino acid homocysteine. Elevated levels of this amino acid correspond with higher rates of heart attack and stroke.
Find out more about the ways that vitamin B12 can enhance your overall well-being. Request an appointment online or call our office today at 850-765-2549.
