Vitamin B12 Benefits

by Vincent Polisi

Are you wondering about the vitamin B12 benefits and why so many people decide to take b12 shots?  The truth is that the health benefits of vitamin b12 are extensive.  B12 is required for the formation of myelin, a substance that works to protect your nerves.  It is also required for blood formation, because it plays a key role in the creation of hemoglobin.  Another one of the b12 vitamin benefits is that it helps your body metabolize protein and fat into energy.  This is one reason that it is often called the energy vitamin.

Another one of the key benefits of vitamin b12 is that it works to reduce the homocysteine levels in your blood.  This is a major benefit because increased homocysteine levels have been linked to the development of heart disease, cancer, stroke and other chronic diseases.

Of course, there are many reasons that people decide to supplement with Vitamin B 12.

If you are considering taking vitamin b shots, your motivation could come from many different directions.  Maybe you have heard about b12 weight loss and are hoping to drop a few pounds.  Vitamin shots for weight loss are becoming more and more popular.   Or, maybe you would like to take a b12 shot to help with your lagging energy levels.  You may even be concerned that you have vitamin b12 deficiency symptoms. All of these are good reasons to consider taking b12 shots. After all there are many vitamin b12 benefits.

One reason that so many people take vitamin b 12 shots, is that problems from low levels of B12 begin to occur when you are still test has having normal levels of B12 in your body.  In fact, most experts agree that simply having “low normal” levels of B12 is enough to cause serious neurological issues in many people.  A Tufts University study that looked at over 3,000 “healthy” adults showed that 65% of them had B12 levels that were low normal or below.  Certainly these individuals could all benefit from a b12 injection.

Since low levels of B12 have not only been linked to the development of a B12 deficiency, but also to the development of chronic disease, many people decide to take a vitamin b shot for preventative measures.  Low B12 increases the level of homosysteine in your blood.  This is believed to trigger diseases such as heart disease.  Who knew that b 12 injections were heart healthy?!

If you are over 40, taking a B 12 shot is a great idea.  Even if you only take one once a month, it can help to maintain your bodies stores of B12.  As we get older, absorbing B12 becomes much more difficult.  This is because our body’s produce less intrinsic factor, which plays a critical role in the absorption of B12.  It is estimated that up to 20% of the population over the age of 65 has a B12 deficiency with many more having borderline or low/normal levels.  Some health experts go so far to say that anyone over the age of 60 would benefit from taking b vitamin shots.

Why Take a B12 Shot Rather Than Oral Supplement?

Vitamin B12 is the largest of all of the B Vitamins.  It also happens to be very difficult for your body to absorb.  The good news is that a perfectly healthy body has between 5,000mg and 10,000 mg of B12 stored in the nervous system, kidneys and liver.  The challenge with oral supplementation is that it just is not significant to restore your bodies stores of B12 if you are already depleted.  In fact, only 1% of an oral supplement will ever make its way into your bloodstream and that is IF you have no absorption issues.  This is why many people take B12 injections.  It is truly the best way to go if you are experiencing b12 deficiency symptoms.

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