Wellness Post: Could It Be B?
Oct. 4th, 2013 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blairmacgPoor short term memory. Apathy and irritability. Weakness and trouble sleeping. Restlessness and fatigue. Depression.
All of the above are symptoms commonly treated with prescription drugs—usually antidepressants, sleep aids, or a combination of them—and those prescriptions all carry well-known side effects that can impair daily living. But those symptoms might also point to a problem that’s much easier to address, and the solutions don’t cause potentially addictive and life-threatening problems: low levels of B vitamins.
Alas, few patients get a recommendation for, let alone information about, these essential nutrients.
The body requires B vitamins to turn food into energy, maintain the nervous system, support the heart and other muscles, and sustain healthy immune system function. Each B vitamin performs numerous functions. Without good levels of Thiamine (B1), the body doesn’t convert the carbohydrates of food into usable energy, and doesn’t deal well with stress. When Niacin (B3) is low, the nervous, circulatory, and digestive system suffers. Deficiencies of B6 reduce the body’s ability to produce serotonin, leading to depression, and melatonin, leading to poor sleep regulation. Low levels of B12 leads to fatigue, numbness in the fingers and toes, hair loss, weakness, and depression.
If you want to read more, check out the rest of the post at Well4Real.
All of the above are symptoms commonly treated with prescription drugs—usually antidepressants, sleep aids, or a combination of them—and those prescriptions all carry well-known side effects that can impair daily living. But those symptoms might also point to a problem that’s much easier to address, and the solutions don’t cause potentially addictive and life-threatening problems: low levels of B vitamins.
Alas, few patients get a recommendation for, let alone information about, these essential nutrients.
The body requires B vitamins to turn food into energy, maintain the nervous system, support the heart and other muscles, and sustain healthy immune system function. Each B vitamin performs numerous functions. Without good levels of Thiamine (B1), the body doesn’t convert the carbohydrates of food into usable energy, and doesn’t deal well with stress. When Niacin (B3) is low, the nervous, circulatory, and digestive system suffers. Deficiencies of B6 reduce the body’s ability to produce serotonin, leading to depression, and melatonin, leading to poor sleep regulation. Low levels of B12 leads to fatigue, numbness in the fingers and toes, hair loss, weakness, and depression.
If you want to read more, check out the rest of the post at Well4Real.
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no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-05 02:38 pm (UTC)I suspect the next two decades will see medicine shift its focus from pathogens to nutrients. Modern food processing and manipulations have changed our nutrient intake so drastically, we're dealing with major non-pathogen diseases that kill us slowly rather than quickly. The pathogen mindset--kill it, remove it, or shoot down the symptoms--isn't working all that well, alas.
By law, I cannot say, "It wouldn't hurt your son to try a good B complex!" If it were me, I'd take a B complex, knowing it can support neurotransmitter production, reduce feelings of anxiety, and support the overall nervous system. And knowing the safe upper limits of B vitamins are far above the amounts found in most supplements. And knowing the primary interaction B vitamins have with antidepressants is to improve how well the prescription works. If it were me. :)