Top 8 Reasons to Take B Vitamins

"B VITAMINS:" From television ads to cereal boxes, we've all heard the term but do you know what it really means and how vital it is to our individual health?? First, I must say, there is no "it" because in order for it to be vitamins with an "s," there are, obviously, multiple vitamins that are considered to be B vitamins. There was a time, however, when they were thought to be one vitamin, especially since they are all usually found in the same foods but eventually, each were found to be chemically distinct. It was actually from cereal boxes that I began to realize and recognize the different B vitamins and differentiate between them.
Before I give you 8 reasons to include them in your diet, allow me to share what the B vitamins are: B1 = thiamine; B2 = riboflavin; B3 = niacin; B5 = pantothenic acid; B6 = pyridoxine; B7 (also known as vitamin H) = biotin; B9 (also known as vitamin M) = folic acid; B12 = cobalamines

• Most people who are diagnosed with depression have a vitamin B deficiency. The B vitamins deal with a lot of chemicals in our body, to balance them. If you've ever heard the commercials for anti-depressants, they say depression's from a chemical imbalance. Now, I believe it's more than that but, point blank, vitamins B3 and B6 release serotonin and balance our mood through the chemical balance they help to create. Therefore, it can decrease/prevent depression and helps to reduce stress.
  
  
• Other chemicals that B vitamins help to balance are those that control our metabolism. A lot of times, if you stay up really late, when you wake up, you eat sugary carbs all day. This is because certain B vitmains get to work once you go to sleep and they balance the chemicals related to metabolic rate so, when you didn't have a good sleep pattern, they are thrown off. Yet, B vitamins also help to create good sleep pattrens.
  
  
• B vitamins help in many other unexpected ways. B1 helps get rid of migraines and mosquitos and B6 helps decrease water retention.
  
  
• B vitamins help with your immune system and nervous system.
  
  
• They also enhance the health of our skin and our muscle development. B vitamins deal with a lot of cells in the human body and they promote cell growth and division. Thus, B vitamins help with cell-related ailments, such as anemia. They even prevent pancreatic cancer if gotten from food, not tablets.
  
  
• B5 works with our adrenal glands and hair growth. Hence, the hair care line, "Pantene."
  
  
• Heart health (B3 lowers choldesterol), digestive health and mental health must also be added to the list!
  
  
• They are relatively convenient to find, coexisting in most healthy food and can be taken in supplementary vitamin tablet form either from a daily vitamin or as a B complex.

There are many B vitamin success stories and I can give you one more. Yet, remember, as with everything else in life, moderate your usage. A couple of the B vitamins can be toxic if too much is taken. Make sure you rely on food for a lot of your vitamin needs but also turn to vitamin tablets as supplements. Read labels. Allow yourself a day each week without it. Each B vitamin is important and can be found in many foods and daily vitamin supplements as well as B complex supplements.
Now, for another success story: My 12-year-old niece suffered three seizures this year. Instead of turning to the common drug for such, which causes a dependency, has many terrible side effects and must be taken for life, my mother told my sister that my niece needs vitamins. So, along with water for constant hydration, the B vitamins, both in daily supplements and B complex supplement form, have fared well with her. Now, my sister and nephew also take them and it has increased their energy, alertness and elevated their mood.