by Vladimire Herard
Brushing past the noise of fat burners and metabolic boosters crowding the market, researchers find that natural remedies to obesity and unhealthy weight gain work best.
After all, sound nutrition does begin and end with vitamins and minerals.
Standing out among them are vitamin B12, a fundamental nutrient that is a member of the B complex family of eight such vitamins.
B12, especially when taken with B6 and chromium, has long been associated with successful weight management.
In fact, medical research published in such journals as Nutrients in 2020 found that high levels of B12 may also be positively linked to lower body fat and cholesterol levels and higher metabolism.
Meanwhile, low levels were connected to obesity in the journal Frontiers of Endocrinology in 2019.
Still, weight-challenged patients and their physicians may have to factor in insulin resistance if they are diabetic, poor quality of sleep, high stress, poor nutrition and DNA.
Also known as cobalamin, vitamin B12 plays a number of roles in human health. It supports red blood cells, brain development, DNA and the nervous system.
Additionally, vitamin B12 keeps bone density; averts osteoporosis and macular degeneration; boosts mental health, mood and memory; maintains energy production; promotes heart health, and; is behind healthy skin, hair and nails.
In order to benefit from consuming B12, a protein known as intrinsic factor or IF must be present in the cells of your stomach.
If not, the lack of IF can lead to your development of a condition known as megaloblastic anemia in which low levels of red blood cells are bigger than usual.
Symptoms include fatigue, imbalance in standing and walking, increased anemia, gastric cancer, heart failure, memory issues, nerve damage, shortness of breath and weakness.
Besides a low IF, what else could block the digestion of B12 in the human body? Low levels can be accounted for by age, alcoholism, anemia, a lack of nutritional intake, pregnancy and prescription drugs.
In particular, this describes the health status of seniors, vegetarians and vegans and patients with gastrointestinal disorders such as Crohn’s disease or celiac disease or had part of their digestive tract removed from gastric bypass or another type of surgical operation.
Vegetarians and vegans run the risk of a deficiency as there are no plant sources of B12 but those who consume meat regularly are at no loss for the vitamin.
Surprisingly, vitamin C can also deplete your supply of B12. The prescription drugs most likely to decrease your B12 levels treat serious chronic and acute illnesses.
They include antiacid formulas and heart medicine such as Prilosec, also known as omeprazole, and Zantac, also known as rantidine; anti-seizure drugs like Dilantin, also known as phenytoin; anti-cholesterol drugs like colestipol, also known as Colestid, Questran, also known as cholestyramine, and Welchol or colesevelam, and; metformin for diabetes and weight loss.
To determine if you have low levels of B12, you must consult with your doctor, dietitian, nutritionist and nurses and obtain a medical checkup and blood test.
The vitamin does not occur naturally in the human body. If you are found to be deficient, you may be prescribed B12 in the form of pills, injection shots, liquid droplets and a nasal spray.
The richest sources of B12 include beef, breads, cereals and grains, clams, eggs, fish such as sardines, trout and tuna, milk and dairy products, organ meats, yeast and yogurt.
