RE-ENERGIZE YOURSELF WITH A VITAMIN B12 INJECTION

Can a powerful dose of vitamins really transform the way you feel? You may be surprised to learn that a vitamin B12 injection from Quench Wellness in Chicago, Illinois not only gives you energy but also helps your body maintain optimum efficiency.

What Is Vitamin B12?

You could consider Vitamin B12 the “Superman” (or woman!) of vitamins. This water-soluble vitamin is vital for many important bodily functions, including the formation of red blood cells, DNA synthesis, and nerve regeneration. For this reason, it’s been used to help enhance athletic performance, fight fatigue, and provide additional energy to get through hectic schedules.

This vitamin exists in several forms, and because it contains a bit of a mineral called cobalt, the compounds within vitamin B12 are often referred to as cobalamins. All of the B vitamins play an important role in your body’s metabolism and health, but vitamin B12 plays a particularly prominent part.

The B vitamins, and particularly vitamin B12, play a vital role in how your body produces what it needs for energy. If you’re deficient in vitamin B12, an injection will definitely give your energy level a boost. In fact, one of the first signs of vitamin B12 deficiency is fatigue.

What Is a Vitamin B12 Injection?

This is a dose of vitamin B12 administered through intramuscular injection, and it’s designed to give a healthy dose of energy, as well. An injection is an efficient way for vitamin B12 to be delivered into the system.

Vitamin B12 injections offer several benefits including:

Enhanced metabolic functions
Enzyme production
DNA synthesis
Nerve regeneration
Hormonal balance
Mood improvement
Skin pigment balance
Youthful skin
Increased energy

Your body can’t store vitamin B12, so a vitamin B12 injection can be repeated once a week, and it’s important to have repeat injections to ensure your body is functioning at its optimum level and receiving the vitamin B12 it needs to remain focused and healthy.

Great for Hair, Skin and Nails

Because Vitamin B12 has a unique role in the production and regeneration of cells, this means that it’s important to have healthy levels of this vitamin to have healthy skin, hair and nails.

If you do have a vitamin B12 deficiency, it will show up in different dermatological areas. These include:

Discolored nails
Changes in hair
Hyperpigmentation
Patchy loss of skin color (vitiligo)
Angular stomatitis (cracked corners of the mouth)

Treatment with vitamin B12 has been shown to help alleviate these conditions.

How Much Vitamin B12 Do You Need?

Your body doesn’t make vitamin B12, so you’ll need to get it from supplements on a regular basis. Remember that your body is not able to store vitamin B12 for long periods of time.

How much you need will actually vary on many things, such as your age, your nutrition, your medical condition and any medications that you may be taking. In general, the normal range for vitamin B12 is around 200 to 900 picograms per milliliter (pg/ml). Anything less than 200 pg/ml is generally considered to be a deficiency.

General recommendations are for 2.4 micrograms (mcg) a day, although those who are elderly or breastfeeding women may need more. Teens and adults should have 2.4 mcg of vitamin D, and the National Institute of Health recommends that pregnant women should have 2.6 mcg and breastfeeding women 2.8mcg. There’s no recommended upper limit for B12, so “overdosing” is not a concern. Many times, a vitamin injection will deliver doses of the vitamin in a more efficient way than taking supplements or pills.

Who Is at Risk for Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

If you’re not sure if you’re getting enough of this powerful nutrient, you should consider getting a blood test to see what your body’s levels are. This will help you determine the benefits of a vitamin B12 injection.

Did you know that as you age, it’s more difficult for your body to absorb and process this vitamin? If you’ve had bariatric (weight loss) surgery or if you heavily use alcohol, you may also have difficulty absorbing this vitamin. If you have any of the following conditions, you should be aware that it’s more likely that you could develop a vitamin B12 deficiency:

Atrophic gastritis

This is a condition where the lining of your stomach has thinned.

Intestinal Conditions

Any medical condition that affects your large or small intestines can have an effect on how your body absorbs vitamin B12 and how much of it you’ll need to have to replenish it.

These intestinal conditions include:

Crohn’s disease
Celiac disease
Bacterial growth
A parasite

Disorders of the Immune System

These can include conditions such as lupus or Graves’ disease.

Certain Medications

There are certain medications that can inhibit your body’s ability to process vitamin B12. These medicines include certain heartburn medications, proton pump inhibitors, diabetes medications (such as Metaformin), and H2 blockers.

Vegan Diets and Vitamin B12

There are many who have embraced the vegan diet. However because vitamin B12 is primarily found in animal products such as milk, cheese, and eggs, vegans are at higher risk of having a vitamin B12 deficiency. If you are a vegan, you may wish to consider getting one of these injections to ensure that your body is operating at its optimum level.

What Are the Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency?

The main concern over a vitamin B12 deficiency is that it can lead to anemia, a condition where there are fewer healthy red blood cells. While mild deficiencies may not cause any symptoms, if the problem is not corrected it can lead to:

Fatigue and weakness
Pale skin
Gastrointestinal problems such as constipation, gas, or diarrhea
Heart palpitations
Muscle weakness
Tingling feeling in the muscles
Mental health issues such as depression or behavioral changes

How Does the Body Absorb Vitamin B12?

The body has to absorb Vitamin B12 in two steps. First, in the stomach, acid separates the B12 from the food. Then, it combines with a protein created in the stomach and is absorbed by the body. This is why some of those who have had weight loss surgery or surgery to remove part of the stomach have difficulty absorbing the vitamin B12 they need from foods.

Additional Benefits of Vitamin B12

Extensive research has gone into exploring the various conditions that vitamin B12 can help with to assist your body in becoming healthier. While scientists are still exploring all the possibilities, there are some other interesting aspects to Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 May Help Prevent Birth Defects

Certain studies have shown that vitamin B12 levels can help women have a healthy pregnancy by helping the fetus’s brain and nervous system during development.

Some also believe that having an adequate amount of vitamin B12 can help decrease the chances of premature birth or miscarriage.

Vitamin B12 May Help Prevent Osteoporosis

Because of its restorative nature, healthy B12 level can support bone health. Studies have shown a link between low vitamin B12 levels and osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to become brittle and easily break, and postmenopausal women are at particularly higher risk of the disease.

Macular Degeneration

This is a serious disease that can severely damage your vision and it is one of the major causes of vision loss in the United States. Maintaining recommended levels of vitamin B12 can possibly prevent age-related macular degeneration. How?

Homocysteine is a type of amino acid that populates your bloodstream, and vitamin B12 lowers this level. High homocysteine levels are associated with increased risk of age-related macular degeneration.

Vitamin B12 Can Help Battle Depression

Vitamin B12 can do much more than merely improve your mood: it can play a major part in metabolizing serotonin. Serotonin is the chemical in your body that is important to help regulate mood and emotions.

In certain studies, vitamin B12 has been found to improve the symptoms for those who are struggling with depression. Other studies showed that those who had both antidepressants and vitamin B12 were more likely to demonstrate an improvement in their symptoms.

Higher vitamin B12 levels are also linked to better outcomes and recovery for those who are struggling with major depressive disorder. If someone already has a vitamin B12 deficiency, then utilizing a vitamin B12 injection can help lift their mood.

Vitamin B12 Is Great for Your Brain Health

We’ve already mentioned how vitamin B12 can lift mood and aid those battling depression. But it can also prevent the loss of neurons that are important for brain function. This means that it may help reduce the risk of developing dementia or memory loss.

Research has shown that those with low levels of vitamin B12 tend to have poorer memories, so restoring those levels to normal can help cognitive function.

Vitamin B12 May Help Your Heart

You may have never heard of homocysteine, but this amino acid has been shown to have a link to an elevated risk of developing heart disease. Heart disease is currently the leading cause of death of Americans.

Those who have a good, healthy level of vitamin B12 have fewer of the amino acid homocysteine. This could result in a decreased risk of heart disease. However, it’s important to note that there is still not enough solid evidence to give 100% certainty that taking vitamin B12 will reduce your risk of heart disease; but many researchers do believe there is some kind of link between vitamin B12 and heart health.

Interesting Facts

Vitamin B12 is a vitamin that has tremendous benefits for our body, and you might find the following facts interesting:

Vitamin B12 Isn’t Found in a Lot of Natural Foods

Dairy products, fish, eggs, meat and chicken have rich amounts of vitamin B12, but even that might not be enough to give the body the complete amount of vitamin B12 needed.

Your Body Can’t Store Vitamin B12 for Extended Time

Even if you eat all the right foods that are rich in B12, that doesn’t mean your body will be able to retain the vitamin. Your body isn’t able to store the vitamin for long periods of time. In addition, age plays an important factor. As we age, the body’s natural absorbency rate decreases, making it even more difficult to hold on to this important vitamin.

Ready to Get an Energy-Boosting Injection?

The extensive benefits of vitamin B12 can’t be denied. It impacts every aspect of your health, from boosting your metabolism to giving you energy to reducing your risk for developing certain diseases. Because your body can’t effectively store B12, it’s important to get an injection on a regular basis. You can get the boost of energy you need through vitamin B12 injections. Call Quench Wellness in Chicago, Illinois for an appointment today to learn more.