B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that is crucial in cellular energy production. It’s also needed to keep your brain and nerves healthy.
In addition, B12 helps to lower levels of homocysteine, which may play a role in heart disease. Plus, it keeps your red blood cells from becoming anemic.
Lowers Homocysteine Levels
Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that your body produces when it breaks down another amino acid, methionine. It can damage your arteries and increase your risk of developing heart disease or other blood vessel disorders.
Typically, your body uses vitamin B12, B6, and folic acid (folate or vitamin B9) to break down homocysteine into less harmful biochemicals. When you lack these B vitamins, your homocysteine levels rise.
Research suggests that high homocysteine levels may be a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. Studies show that people with elevated homocysteine levels have a significantly higher risk of developing the disease than those with lower homocysteine levels.
Several studies have shown that taking B vitamin supplements can help reduce your homocysteine levels. These supplements include folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12. In addition to these vitamins, betaine or TMG (trimethylglycine) can help your body metabolize homocysteine.
Boosts Brain Function
Taking B12 methylcobalamin (500-1000 mcg daily) can help improve brain function. The methyl group in this form of vitamin B12 boosts serotonin production, a neurotransmitter essential for mood enhancement and helps prevent brain cell damage from toxins like oxidants and excitotoxins. However, you must know how much b12 methylcobalamin should you take a day.
Methylcobalamin also increases the availability of S-adenosylmethionine, a molecule that is critical for the creation of melatonin. The melatonin hormone controls sleep cycles and boosts the immune system.
Another essential benefit of B12 methylcobalamin intake is that it lowers homocysteine levels. Excess homocysteine builds up in the body and can cause various health problems. High homocysteine levels increase the risk of vascular disease, heart attack and stroke.
In addition, a lack of this vitamin can lead to a condition called pernicious anemia. This is a slow and debilitating condition that can lead to death.
One of the most common ways to get vitamin B12 is through foods like poultry, fish, shellfish and fortified grain products. It isn’t easy to absorb this vitamin from these sources, so a supplement is often recommended.
Prevents Anemia
Vitamin B12 helps to prevent anemia by ensuring the body has enough red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body. It also plays a role in preventing the buildup of the amino acid homocysteine, which can lead to heart disease.
Its cofactor function is essential for converting homocysteine to methionine and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, two amino acids involved in DNA synthesis. Moreover, it is required to produce S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), an essential methyl donor that can help form proteins and lipids in the body.
A deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause serious health problems, including fatigue, low red blood cell production, and neurological symptoms such as mood disorders. In addition, B12 deficiency can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Vitamin B12 is absorbed from food by the action of hydrochloric acid and gastric protease in the stomach. This releases the vitamin from protein and combines it with an intrinsic factor, a glycoprotein secreted by the stomach’s parietal cells.
Helps with Weight Loss
Methylcobalamin is a form of Vitamin B12 that boosts energy levels, improves mood and increases focus. This vitamin is also essential for weight loss, as it increases metabolism and helps to break down glucose.
Methylcobalamin supplements are often used with other weight-loss medications to maximize their effectiveness. If you’re taking a weight loss medication, ask your doctor if adding methylcobalamin to the regimen is safe.
The vitamin is essential for metabolizing glucose, fatty acids and amino acids. This process produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is necessary for the health of your heart, brain and other vital organs.
It can also help to reduce homocysteine levels, a risk factor for heart disease and blood vessel disorders. Homocysteine can also cause inflammation, which may lead to other problems.
A deficiency of this vitamin can result in anemia, which causes a shortage of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Symptoms include fatigue, low energy and a lack of mental focus.
Helps with Depression
The micronutrient B12 plays a critical role in brain health and mental health. It can help the brain manufacture neurotransmitters, reduce homocysteine levels, and maintain inflammation.
It is also essential for maintaining healthy sleep-wake cycles, ensuring that our body’s circadian rhythms are in sync with our natural internal biological clock and helps keep depression symptoms in check. The type of B12 most involved in these processes is methyl B12.
Methyl B12 carries a range of beneficial compounds, including vitamin C, folic acid and the mineral selenium. It also improves methylation in the brain, which is critical for maintaining optimal levels of neurotransmitters and lowering homocysteine levels.
In addition, methyl B12 is essential for the proper function of neurotransmitters in the brain, which in turn helps control mood. It also works to lower the levels of inflammation that are commonly associated with depression.
However, some people may have a problem absorbing B12 and need to take a supplement or receive a vitamin shot. This is particularly true if they are vegetarian or have digestive issues such as low stomach acid, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and other factors that interfere with the absorption of this nutrient.
