Vitamin B12 has a reputation as “the energy vitamin,” thanks to the role it plays in metabolism — the process your body uses to burn calories. If your levels of B12 are low, you’ll be low on energy, too — and the change in your metabolism can make it harder to lose weight.
The problem: Even though most people have access to healthy food choices, vitamin B12 deficiency is fairly common, affecting as many as 15% of adults and becoming more common with age. Deficiency can occur for different reasons, but usually it’s because you’re not choosing foods high in B12 or your gut is having trouble absorbing it.
At Boost Hydro, our team offers B12 shots to help patients ensure they have optimal levels of vitamin B12 and to support their weight-loss goals.
Vitamin B12 is one of several essential vitamins — micronutrients your body depends on to function the way it’s supposed to and to keep diseases and other medical problems at bay. In addition to promoting a healthy metabolism, vitamin B12 supports healthy blood cells and nerve cells, as well as the production of DNA.
Low levels of B12 can affect your metabolism directly, slowing the rate at which your body burns calories — and therefore making it more challenging to lose those excess pounds and keep them off. Vitamin B12 deficiency also increases your risks of nerve pain, chronic fatigue, and depression.
Combined, these effects make it even harder to stay active and get the exercise you need to maintain a healthy weight.
Vitamin B12 isn’t as common as other vitamins — in fact, it’s predominantly found in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs, and fish. If you follow a plant-based eating plan, you should add plenty of foods that are fortified with vitamin B12 to make sure you consume enough. Nutritional yeast is one source of B12 that many vegans rely on.
Still, even with your best efforts, it’s easy to wind up consuming less vitamin B12 than your body needs to stay healthy and lose weight efficiently.
While oral supplements offer one option for boosting vitamin B12, the micronutrients in vitamin pills aren't as readily accessible to your body as the nutrients found naturally in foods, which means you still might not be getting enough to help your metabolism stay primed.
If your gut doesn't absorb B12 as well as it should, you can be left with low levels, too.
There’s another problem with vitamin supplements: For your body’s cells to get those nutrients, they need to pass through your digestive system, where they’re exposed to acids and other fluids that break them down and dilute them. As a result, you can wind up absorbing far less than you think.
Vitamin B12 injections deliver a full dose of B12 directly to your bloodstream, making it available immediately to all of your organs and tissues. Plus the vitamin that’s delivered is full strength and undiluted, so you can feel confident you’re receiving the necessary dose.
The B12 shots bypass your digestive system. That makes injections a great choice for anyone who has problems absorbing nutrients, including people with issues like irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease. And because the shots bypass your stomach, you don’t have to worry about nausea or heartburn that can accompany some oral supplements.
Losing weight isn’t easy, especially if you’re battling a vitamin B12 deficiency at the same time. To learn more about B12 shots and how they can help in your weight-loss journey, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Boost Hydro today in Brownsville and downtown Brooklyn, New York.