A Guide to the B Vitamins

The B vitamin family is made up of eight B vitamins. Although they are commonly recognized as a group and often work together in the body, each of the B vitamins performs unique and important functions. To help you better understand the roles of each of the B vitamins, we have put together a friendly guide to introduce you to each member of this important family of vitamins.

Thiamin:
Also known as vitamin B1, thiamin is needed to produce cellular energy from the foods you eat, and is also required for the synthesis of DNA and RNA. Thiamin is found in a wide variety of foods with some of the best sources coming from lentils, whole grains and pork. Thiamin can also be found in red meats, yeast, nuts, sunflower seeds, peas, milk, cauliflower, spinach and legumes.

Riboflavin:
Also known as vitamin B2, riboflavin is a basic building block for normal growth and development. It is needed for healthy cellular energy production and also supports the antioxidant activity in the body. Riboflavin is found in a variety of foods such as fortified cereals, milk, eggs, salmon, beef, spinach and broccoli.

Niacin:
Niacin is also known as vitamin B3, and supports over 200 chemical reactions in the body including cellular energy production and fatty acid synthesis. Niacin in the form of nicotinic acid has been studied for its role in cardiovascular health. Good sources of niacin include beef, poultry and fish as well as whole wheat bread, peanuts and lentils.

Pantothenic Acid:
Also known as vitamin B5, pantothenic acid helps support fatty acid synthesis and cellular energy production in the body. Pantothenic acid is widely available in plant and animal food sources. Rich sources include organ meats (liver, kidney), egg yolk, whole grains, avocados, cashew nuts, peanuts, lentils, soybeans, brown rice, broccoli, and milk.

Vitamin B6:
Involved in over 100 cellular reactions throughout the body, vitamin B6 is instrumental in keeping various bodily functions operating at their best. Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, is needed to metabolize amino acids and glycogen (the body’s storage form of glucose), and is also necessary for normal nervous system, hormone and red blood cell function. Vitamin B6 is fairly abundant in the diet and can be found in foods such as meat, poultry, eggs, bananas, fish, fortified cereal grains and cooked spinach.

Biotin:
Biotin, or vitamin B7, is commonly found in foods such as brewer’s yeast, strawberries, organ meat, cheese and soybeans. For those who are biotin deficient, studies show that biotin may help in the health of hair, skin & nails. Biotin also supports healthy carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism.

Folic Acid:
Also known as vitamin B9, folic acid is needed for DNA synthesis, the formation of red blood cells and for the metabolism of amino acids. Folic acid is most commonly known for its role in fetal health and development as it is critical for the formation of a baby’s spinal cord and nervous system. This important developmental process occurs during the initial weeks of pregnancy, and so adequate folic acid intake is especially important for all women of child-bearing age. Fortified foods such as breads and cereals are good dietary sources of folic acid. Other good sources are dark green leafy vegetables such as asparagus and spinach as well as brewer’s yeast, liver, fortified orange juice, beets, dates and avocados.

Vitamin B12:
Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, plays a critical role in the pathways of the body that produce cellular energy. It is also needed for DNA synthesis, red blood cell formation and for healthy nervous system function. Individuals who follow vegan or vegetarian diets may benefit from a B12 supplement since B12 is predominantly found in foods of animal origin such as chicken, beef, fish, milk and eggs.


One easy way to make sure that you get your daily dose of these important B vitamins is to take a B complex supplement such as Nature Made Super B Energy Complex, which contains 100% of the Daily Value of all 8 B vitamins in one convenient softgel.

B-vitamins may slow onset of Alzheimer’s disease

Large doses of B-vitamins could slow the cognitive decline in older people that is the precursor to dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study.

Speaking at the British Science Festival in Bradford on Tuesday, Celeste de Jager, a neuropsychologist at Oxford University, said that taking vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid in medicinal quantities reduced the overall shrinkage of a person's brain by 30% over the course of the two-year study.

Her work, published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, was carried out on 270 men and women over 70 who had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition that affects one in six elderly people and which can interfere with memory, language and other mental functions. About half of the people with MCI go on to develop Alzheimer's within five years of the initial diagnosis.

Taking B vitamins and folic acid is known to control the levels of an amino acid called homocysteine in the blood. High levels of this chemical can damage blood vessels and are associated with increased risk of dementia.

"High homocysteine is a known risk factor for cognitive decline in the elderly and Alzheimer's disease and also for other kinds of dementia like vascular dementia," said de Jager. "It can be damaging to the endothelial lining of the blood cells. It also binds to receptors in the brain that are on the neurons and it seems to contribute the atrophy that's associated with Alzheimer's."

The elderly are more susceptible to this effect of high homocysteine, she added, because levels rise with older age, possibly due to poorer absorption of B vitamins in diet as people age.

To keep homocysteine levels down, she said, people should eat more meat, fish and green vegetables, and reduce consumption of alcohol, which is known to deplete the body of vitamin B12.

Across the whole group, de Jager found that the people taking vitamins had a 30% reduced decline in brain tissue over two years compared with placebo. In people with the highest homocysteine levels in the blood at the start of the experiment, however, the vitamins provided most benefit, reducing brain shrinkage by 50% in these cases.

Vitamin B puts off Alzheimer's

A new study suggests high doses of B vitamins may halve the rate of brain shrinkage in older people experiencing some of the warning signs of Alzheimer's disease.

Brain shrinkage is one of the symptoms of mild cognitive impairment, which often leads to dementia.
Researchers say this could be the first step towards finding a way to delay the onset of Alzheimer's.
Experts said the findings were important but more research was needed.

The study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, looked at 168 elderly people experiencing levels of mental decline known as mild cognitive impairment.
This condition, marked by mild memory lapses and language problems, is beyond what can be explained by normal ageing and can be a precursor to Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

Half of the volunteers were given a daily tablet containing levels of the B vitamins folate, B6 and B12 well above the recommended daily amount. The other half were given a placebo.

After two years, the rate at which their brains had shrunk was measured.
The average brain shrinks at a rate of 0.5% a year after the age of 60. The brains of those with mild cognitive impairment shrink twice as fast. Alzheimer's patients have brain shrinkage of 2.5% a year.
The team, from the Oxford Project to investigate Memory and Ageing (Optima), found that on average, in those taking vitamin supplements, brain shrinkage slowed by 30%.
In some cases it slowed by more than 50%, making their brain atrophy no worse than that of people without cognitive impairment.

'Protecting' the brain
Certain B vitamins - folic acid, vitamin B6 and B12 - control levels of a substance known as homocysteine in the blood. High levels of homocysteine are associated with faster brain shrinkage and Alzheimer's disease.

The study authors believe it was the B vitamins' effect on levels of homocysteine that helped slow the rate of brain shrinkage.

The study author, Professor David Smith, said the results were more significant than he had expected.
"It's a bigger effect than anyone could have predicted," he said, "and it's telling us something biological.
"These vitamins are doing something to the brain structure - they're protecting it, and that's very important because we need to protect the brain to prevent Alzheimer's."

He said more research was now needed to see whether high doses of B vitamins actually prevented the development of Alzheimer's in people with mild cognitive impairment.
The Alzheimer's Research Trust, which co-funded the study, also called for further investigation.
"These are very important results, with B vitamins now showing a prospect of protecting some people from Alzheimer's in old age," said chief executive Rebecca Wood.

"The strong findings must inspire an expanded trial to follow people expected to develop Alzheimer's."
B vitamins are found naturally in many foods, including meat, fish, eggs and green vegetables.
Experts are warning people not to start taking very high levels of vitamin supplements without medical advice.

Chris Kennard, chair of the Medical Research Council's Neurosciences and Mental Health Board, said: "We must be cautious when recommending supplements like vitamin B as there are separate health risks if taken in too high doses.

"Further research is required before we can recommend the supplement as a treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's."

The UK's Food Standards Agency says taking more than 200 milligrams a day of vitamin B6 can lead to a loss of feeling in the arms and legs, but these symptoms are reversible once someone stops taking the supplements.

It adds that taking 2mg or less of vitamin B12 supplements a day is unlikely to cause harm, but that there is not enough evidence to know what the effects of taking more than that would be.
Taking too much folic acid - over 1mg a day - can mask signs of vitamin B12 deficiency. An early symptom of B12 deficiency is anaemia, but taking large amounts of folic acid treats the anaemia without treating the B12 deficiency.
from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11232356