How Does Vitamin B12 Help With Weight Loss?

Let’s start with why Vitamin B12 is so important in weight loss and in your general health. Vitamin B12 plays an important role in how our body functions and is active in metabolism.  It’s used for red blood cell functions and DNA synthesis; by working to convert body fat and protein into energy.  What does that mean?  It turns the food that you eat into glucose along with breaking down fat and assists in protein metabolism.  What happens when you don’t have enough Vitamin B12?   Many people can experience being tired, feeling weak, dizzy, shortness of breath, and constipation, along with other symptoms. When focusing on weight loss and exercise for example our bodies need to have an efficient respiratory and cardiovascular system working to allow for fat loss. A Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause long-term weight control issues by slowing down your metabolism.  

So why get Vitamin B12 injections? 

There are several reasons to get injections which include improving your health through brain function, heart function, and the production of red blood cells and DNA.   There are several studies that have shown that when you have an adequate level of Vitamin B12 you have a lower risk of obesity along with the ability to lowing body fat and assistance with metabolism.  Because they are a pure form of receiving Vitamin B12 that will go directly into your bloodstream instead of being processed through the digestive system where you lose a percentage of what you ingest.  As we age, we lose the ability to produce enough of the right acids in our stomachs to assist with the absorption of Vitamin B12 in the foods we eat.  People with gastrointestinal issues, gastrointestinal surgeries, on Metformin or taking a proton pump inhibitor for heartburn, vegetarians, vegans, other eating issues, and certain anemias also have poor Vitamin B12 absorption all leading to a deficiency in Vitamin B12. By receiving an injection, you will receive all of the benefits more efficiently.

References:

Baltaci D, Kutlucan A, Turker Y, Yilmaz A, Karacam S, Deler H, Ucgun T, Kara IH. Association of vitamin B12 with obesity, overweight, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, and body fat composition; primary care-based study. Med Glas (Zenica). 2013 Aug;10(2):203-10. PMID: 23892832.

Nachtigal MC, Patterson RE, Stratton KL, Adams LA, Shattuck AL, White E. Dietary supplements and weight control in a middle-age population. J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Oct;11(5):909-15. doi: 10.1089/acm.2005.11.909. PMID: 16296926.

Sun Y, Sun M, Liu B, et al. Inverse Association Between Serum Vitamin B12 Concentration and Obesity Among Adults in the United States. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019;10:414. Published 2019 Jun 27. doi:10.3389/fendo.2019.00414

Zeuschner CL, Hokin BD, Marsh KA, Saunders AV, Reid MA, Ramsay MR. Vitamin B₁₂ and vegetarian diets. Med J Aust. 2013 Aug 19;199(S4):S27-32. doi: 10.5694/mja11.11509. PMID: 25369926.