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Vitamin B Complex

The vitamin B complex consists of eight water soluble vitamins. The B vitamins work together to boost metabolism, enhance the immune system and nervous system, keep the skin and muscles healthy, encourage cell growth and division, and other benefits to your body. Brewer's yeast is one of the best sources of the B vitamins.

B1
Known as Thiamine, serves as a catalyst in carbohydrate metabolism and helps synthesize nerve-regulating substances.
Deficiency can cause heart swelling, leg cramps, and muscular weakness.
Rich food sources high in thiamine include liver, heart, and kidney meats, eggs, leafy green vegetables, nuts, legumes, berries, wheat germs, and enriched cereals.
Some believe thiamine helps protect against alcoholism and that it is good for depression, stress, and anxiety. It is also said to improve mental ability and to help indigestion.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 1.5 mg.

B2
Known as Riboflavin, helps metabolize fats, carbohydrates, and respiratory proteins.
The deficiency can result in skin lesions and light sensitivity.
Riboflavins are abundant in mushrooms, milk, meat, liver, dark green vegetables, and enriched cereals, pasta, and bread. 
The vitamin is good for the skin, nails, eyes, mouths, lips, and tongue, and it is believed to help protect against cancer.
The RDA is 1.3 mg for adults.

B3
Also known as Niacin, vitamin P, or vitamin PP—helps release energy from nutrients. It can reduce cholesterol and prevent and treat arteriosclerosis, among other benefits.
Too little B3 can result in pellagra, a disease with symptoms that include sunburn, diarrhea, irritability, swollen tongue, and mental confusion.
Too much B3 can result in liver damage.
Food sources rich in niacin are chicken, salmon, tuna, liver, nuts, dried peas, enriched cereals, and dried beans.
The RDA is 14-18 mg per day for adults.

B5
Or Pantothenic acid, has a role in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Food sources rich in B5 are eggs, whole grain cereals, legumes, and meat, although it is found in some quantity in nearly every food.
Deficiency can result in fatigue, allergies, nausea, and abdominal pain.
The RDA is 10 mg.

B6
Or Pyridoxine, helps the body to absorb and metabolize amino acids, to use fats, and to form red blood cells.
Deficiency in the vitamin may result in smooth tongue, skin disorders, dizziness, nausea, anemia, convulsions, and kidney stones.
Whole grains, bread, liver, green beans, spinach, avocadoes, and bananas are rich food sources that are high in this vitamin.
The RDA ranges from 1.3 to 2 mg depending on age and gender.

B7
Also known as Biotin or vitamin H, helps form fatty acids and assists in the release of energy from carbohydrates.
There have been no cases of deficiency among humans.
The RDA is 30 µg.

B9
Or Folic acid, sometimes goes by the name of vitamin M or vitamin B-c.
Folic acid enables the body to form hemoglobin. It helps treat anemia and sprue.
Good food sources include leafy green vegetables, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and organ meets. However, bear in mind that folic acid is lost when foods are stored at room temperature or cooked.
Deficiency is rare, although folic acid is particularly important in pregnancy. Consuming adequate folic acid before and during pregnancy helps prevent neural tube defects in newborns, including spina bifida.

The RDA for both men and women is 400 micrograms, but women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should consume 600 micrograms a day. When breastfeeding, the recommendation is 500 micrograms.

B12
Also known as Cobalamin or Cyanocobalamin, assists the function of the nervous system and the formation of red blood cells. If the body is unable to absorb sufficient B12, pernicious anemia can result.
B12 can only be found in animal sources such as eggs, milk, fish, meat, and liver. Therefore, vegetarians are strongly encouraged to supplement.
The RDA for adult males and females is 2.4 µg.

Diseases treated by the vitamin B complex
Myalgia Mylagia
means "muscle pain" and is a symptom of many diseases and disorders. The most common cause for myalgia is either overuse or over-stretching of a muscle or group of muscles. Myalgia without a traumatic history is often due to viral infections. Longer-term myalgia may be indicative of a metabolic myopathy, some nutritional deficiencies or chronic fatigue syndrome


Bursitis
Bursitis It is the inflammation of one or more bursae, or small sacs of synovial fluid, in the body. Bursae rest at the points where internal functionaries, like muscles and tendons, slide across bone. Healthy bursae create a smooth and almost frictionless gliding surface. With hundreds of them throughout the body they provide this surface for all motion, making movement normally painless. When bursitis takes hold, however, movement that relies on the inflamed bursa becomes rough and painful. Movement of tendons and muscles over the inflamed bursa causes it to become more inflamed, perpetuating the problem.


Tendonitis
Tendonitis (also spelled tendinitis) is a painful disorder of a tendon. Generally tendonitis is referred to by the body part involved, such as Achilles tendonitis (affecting the Achilles tendon), or patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee, affecting the patellar tendon). It was believed that tendonitis was due to inflammation of a tendon, although this is coming into doubt. Chronic overuse of tendons leads to microscopic tears within the collagen matrix, which gradually weakens the tissue.


Sciatica
Sciatica is sometimes severe pain caused by general compression and/or irritation of one of five nerve roots that are branches of the sciatic nerve. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, and/or various parts of the leg and foot. In addition to pain, there may be numbness, muscular weakness, and difficulty in moving or controlling the leg. Typically, the symptoms are only felt on one side of the body.
Although sciatica is a relatively common form of low back pain and leg pain, the true meaning of the term often is misunderstood. Sciatica is a set of symptoms rather than a diagnosis for what is irritating the root of the nerve, causing the pain. This point is important, because treatment for sciatica or sciatic symptoms often will be different, depending upon the underlying cause of the symptoms.

Lumbago
is a term used to refer to low back pain. Such pain may also be accompanied by symptoms that extend to the buttocks, thigh (s) and leg (s) in either a uni- or bi- lateral fashion (but usually only on one side). If the primary symptom is leg pain caused by a compressed nerve in the low back, then the symptoms are usually called sciatica rather than lumbago.
Lumbago may also be accompanied by other symptoms and signs such as loss of sensation (usually the sole of the foot and posterior aspect of the calf region) and motor function (usually loss of plantar flexion of the foot and toes as well as a diminished ankle jerk reflex) in some areas and back stiffness (pain and rigidity upon movement of the lumbrosacral part of the spine). Other signs include reduced ability to walk or raise one's foot once straightened.

Toxic Neuritis
due to the action of a poison, such as alcohol, lead, or arsenic.

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