Vitamin B12 Shots Could Be a Thing of the Past

One benefit of vitamin B12 shots is the absorption rate of injectable vitamin B12 is more efficient than that of vitamin B12 pills.

For decades, people with low levels of vitamin B12 in their blood have resorted to vitamin B12 injections. This painful method of administering the essential B vitamin is an uncomfortable delivery system at best.

According to a study published in the journal "Blood", new evidence suggests that oral B12 (spray B12 vitamin) works as well as injections. We know that the oral delivery system is easier, more comfortable and convenient!

Recent data reveals that the oral version works as well as injections, with the added feature of maintaining high levels in the blood over time. The study showed that after a month, the blood levels of vitamin B12 in people receiving injections dropped and stayed at a plateau, whereas blood levels of those receiving oral B12 continued to rise.

In order for the digestive tract to absorb B12, a protein is secreted in the stomach that is essential for this process. This protein is known as intrinsic factor. As people grow older they produce less intrinsic factor, and are thus more vulnerable to B12 deficiency. Loss of intrinsic factor associated with a chronic B12 deficiency can result in a serious condition known as pernicious anemia. Anyone with elevated homocysteine levels, psychiatric disorders, eating disorders, sleep disorders, or even someone who is elderly, is potentially B12 deficient.

It has been documented that the level of B12 decreases every year with age. Age-related B12 deficiency has been associated with hearing loss, memory impairment and psychiatric disorders, along with heart disease and stroke.

Diet and age are the prime culprits of B12 deficiency. Meat is a primary source of vitamin B12. However, a meat diet does not guarantee that a person is not B12 deficient. Elderly people, for example, can eat high quantities of meat and still have a deficiency of vitamin B12 because they do not have enough hydrochloric acid in their stomach to maintain the intrinsic factor. B12 deficiency is fairly common in elderly people who frequently have disrupted digestion.

There appears to be something else causing B12 deficiency in older people which researchers have yet to explain. In a Dutch study, researchers found that only 28% of those with B12 deficiency had problems with intrinsic factor. The cause in the remaining 72% is, for now, a mystery. Researchers do know that more people are deficient than is commonly thought. When researchers at the Veterans Hospital in Oklahoma used modified criteria to test for B12 deficiency, they discovered B12 deficiency affected twice as many people as the previous testing.

Those with sleep problems may also need vitamin B12. Studies show that B12 causes an earlier release of melatonin at night, which resets the sleep-wake cycle. B12 acts directly on the pineal gland to provoke a faster release of melatonin. At the tail end of the cycle, B12 causes melatonin to drop-off faster. B12 may help you get to sleep faster, and may help you wake up earlier if you leave a curtain open to the morning light. B12 sensitizes you to the morning sun, which, in turn, helps you wake up. Very serious sleep-wake disorders have been successfully treated with oral B12.

The notion that B12 must be injected to be effective has been disproved in recent studies. One fact many agree on is that B12 supplementation is a necessity in this day and age. In the study mentioned at the beginning of this article, high-dose oral B12 (spray B12 vitamin) was absorbed as well as the injectable dose. Now, the choice is yours: painful shots or a delicious spray.

VitaMist Spray Vitamins B12-500 High Potency Picture all the energy you want at your finger tips! B12 is known for converting fat, carbohydrates and proteins to energy and for working with folate in many body processes, including the synthesis of DNA, red blood cells, and the insulation sheath that surrounds nerve cells. It is necessary for regeneration of nucleic acid and bone marrow, and with the other B vitamins, the conversion of fats, carbohydrates and proteins to energy. Government studies show the intake of vitamin B12 by Americans is less than 70% of the reference daily value (DV). In order to absorb the small amounts of vitamin B12 found in food, the stomach secretes intrinsic factor, a special digestive secretion. VitaMist Spray Vitamins, B12 spray bypasses the stomach and provides a more direct and convenient method of absorption. Vitamin B12supplements are highly recommended for vegetarians, as this vitamin is found in significant quantities only in animal foods (e.g. lamb, beef & fish).