Vitamin B12 has a reputation as the “energy” vitamin, and for good reason: B12 can improve your energy level and help your cells get the oxygen they need to function optimally. But what many people don’t know is that vitamin B12 also plays a role in weight management, so if you’re low in B12, it could be making it extra hard to reach your weight loss targets.
At our offices in Boonton, Pompton Plains, and Jersey City, New Jersey, Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness offers vitamin B12 injections to help your body reach optimal levels of this important vitamin. As part of our custom weight loss treatments, vitamin B12 therapy could be just what you need to finally reach that elusive weight loss goal and enjoy better health.
Vitamin B12 is one of the 13 essential vitamins that are necessary for your body to function properly. B12 helps your body produce DNA, and it also keeps your nerve and blood cells healthy. Plus, it plays an important role in metabolism, the process your body uses to break down foods and fats.
Yet despite the importance of this key nutrient, vitamin B12 deficiency is pretty common: up to 15% of people have low levels of B12. Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are wide-ranging, but they’re not always easy to identify because they can be mistakenly attributed to other problems.
Although Vitamin B12’s role in weight management has long been suspected, the data did not confirm this until recently. Over the past few years, several studies have helped define a clearer link between this important vitamin and weight-related issues.
One recent study that looked at nearly 10,000 Americans surveyed in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found levels of vitamin B12 were inversely associated with obesity. That is, people with high levels of vitamin B12 were less likely to be obese, while individuals with low levels of the vitamin had a higher incidence of obesity.
Another study comparing vitamin B12 in people who were obese or overweight and those who were not also found a significant relationship between B12 levels and weight, with lower levels of B12 significantly associated with being obese or overweight. They also found lower levels of B12 in people who had insulin resistance, a key factor in developing prediabetes and diabetes.
In other research, low levels of vitamin B12 have been linked with diabetes and the development of diabetes in the future in both adults and children. Early evidence indicates vitamin B12 may interfere with weight and metabolism by causing changes at the genetic level.
Vitamin B12 isn’t always as readily available as other vitamins, which is why many foods are fortified with B12. You can also take vitamin B12 supplements. But both of these options for ramping up B12 have one significant shortfall. In both foods and supplements, the vitamin must pass through your digestive system before your body can use it.
Your digestive system is full of acids and enzymes necessary for breaking down foods so your body can absorb nutrients. The problem is that those enzymes can change the character of nutrients before they’re absorbed, altering the way they work and diluting their potency, which means your organs and tissue won’t be getting nearly the amount you might expect.
What’s more, nutrients aren’t always absorbed efficiently. If you have irritable bowel syndrome or any type of issue affecting your digestion (even a minor illness) you can wind up with a vitamin deficiency and you may not even know it.
Vitamin B12 injections bypass your digestive system entirely, which means the full potency of the vitamin goes into your bloodstream, where it can be delivered to your tissues and organs at full strength. Then vitamin B12 helps your body fine-tune your metabolism and use food more efficiently, so you can drop those pounds and achieve your weight goals successfully.
Being overweight can certainly take a toll on your confidence and your energy level, and it can make it hard to be active and social, too. But it gets worse: If you’re overweight, your risks of serious health problems increase, too.
Fortunately, our team can help with vitamin B12 injections and other custom weight loss treatments aimed at helping you lose weight and stay healthy. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Jersey Integrative Health and Wellness today.
