Have you joined the coffee and biscuit brigade?

If you have been feeling unusually tired and run-down lately or reaching for the coffees and biscuits a little too many times just to get through the day, you may just be among the many who are lacking in important B vitamins.



To B or not to B? – that is the question!

Powering up with extra energy is just one of B-12's many great health benefits.

There are many reasons to have your B’s. Vitamins B-12 and B-complex are essential for forming red blood cells which carry energy giving oxygen into our bloodstreams , maintaining a healthy nervous system and energy production, to prevent anaemia, proper digestion, food absorption, carbohydrate and fat metabolism.

Vitamin B12 has been used for years to cope with stress and rejuvenate the body as well as a naturally improve mental clarity, memory and concentration, healthy mood, feelings of well-being and sharpness. Many find they are better able to deal with anxiety and depression.



Plus, it can support female reproductive health, and promote normal nerve growth and development critical to your circulation and adrenal hormone production and it even helps boost your immunity. Vitamin B-complex is responsible for such a wide variety of activities, including cellular differentiation, transmission of nerve electricity, health of nerve cells, heart pulse rate, muscular contraction, digestion, brain function, thought processes and energy production.

Vitamin B-12 deficiency can result in anemia, nerve fibres degeneration, resulting in irreversible nerve damage and permanent loss of mobility.

Signs that you may be deficient in Vitamin B-12 are: Fatigue and Weakness, Numbness and Tingling in the legs & arms, Agitation, Depression and Confusion.

Most people over the age of 50 have a limited ability to absorb B-12. Thus, the need for supplementation.

Sleep like a baby: the B12 connection

Those who have trouble sleeping may benefit by supplementing vitamin B 12 during the day. Studies show that B-12 causes an earlier release of Melatonin at night, which resets the sleep-wake cycle.

B-12 helps you get to sleep earlier, and may help you wake up earlier if you leave a curtain open to the morning sun. B-12 sensitizes you to morning light, which helps you wake up easier.



As you age, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get a good night's sleep because your body becomes less efficient at making this hormone. And that's why it's a good idea to take B-12 to help you sleep like a baby each night.

Do You Have Any Of These Symptoms?

Once your body has been deprived of the vitamin B complex due to reasons stated above, it begins to show signs of altered, diminished or poor health. Without adequate vitamin B complex from foods, you can experience one or more of any one of these symptoms:

• mental problems
• heart palpitations
• heart arrhythmias
• fibrillation
• indigestion
• chronic fatigue
• chronic exhaustion
• paranoia, vague fears, fear that something dreadful is about to happen
• nervousness
• ADD (attention deficiency), inability to concentrate, irritability
• feeling of uneasiness
• thoughts of dying
• easy agitation, frustration
• inability to sleep (insomnia)
• restlessness
• tingling in hands
• tingling fingers and toes
• rashes
• crying spells, inability to cope
• soreness all over