Nay_ho_tze's Medicine Musings

The “Care and Feeding” of Vitamin B Complex

1.  This vitamin complex is very fragile and easily destroyed by excessive cooking, heat,
or sunshine.  Stress also destroys B-complex, as does caffeine, smoking and alcohol. 

2.  B-complex is a water soluble vitamin, meaning that it’s difficult to overdose,             because the body doesn’t store what it can’t use, meaning it needs to be 
replenished daily.  In a perfect, stress-free, pollutant-free world diet alone                 would meet those needs.  Among other foods like eggs, liver, brewer’s yeast, etc., 
B-complex is in green leafy vegetables.  How much of those foods do you eat daily         compared to how much stress you’re under? Probably not enough ...

3.  Because it’s water soluble,  excess B-complex is excreted through urine,
turning it a bit green -  which is a helpful way to keep track of just how much our         bodies may need.   The green tinge means your body is getting enough vitamin B-complex. Remember, B-complex isn't stored by the body - excess is excreted and   daily replenishment necessary

4.  For maximum benefit, vitamin B-complex should be taken with vitamin C to work       efficiently.  Because vitamin C is ascorbic acid, it breaks down the B-complex               for easier use by the body. Vitamin C is also water soluble, so you pee what you             don’t use. Vitamin C gives a distinct yellowish hue to urine, so together with the           greenish tendency of B-complex it’s easy to keep tabs on intake by colour.
And do keep watch. On the day you realize you have a healthy sense of well-                 being, that you feel safe, peaceful, content, make note of your pee colour. 
That’s what your body personally needs when taking vitamins to maintain 
optimum health.

5.  It’s advisable to take B-complex with meals, or at least with milk. While many can tolerate it on an empty stomach with water, some need food or milk to avoid nausea. Nausea can also indicate a need to increase the amount of vitamin C taken.

6.  Although the components of vitamin B-complex can be purchased separately,
because they need to be balanced, it’s best to start by purchasing a complete    complex and build if necessary from there. For example, i've learned that my body requires a higher dose of pyroxidine, or B6, usually present in most purchased 
B-complexes, so I supplement.

7.  If you already take a multivitamin, or if you’re looking to begin taking a multivitamin, a good rule of thumb to choose is to check how much B-complex the multi-vitamin contains, and if the B-complex is even complete. A lot of national brands aren’t complete, and if it’s not, it won’t work, meaning, you’re wasting your money.
So do check labels.

Here is a complete list of the vitamins in B complex 
with balanced proportions between components …

as an example, this is from a label of the complex being sold as B-100 
(note that not all components are in milligrams - hence the proportion ratio for balance)

Thiamin B1.............................100 mg
Riboflavin B2..........................100 mg
Niacin/Niacinimide B3.. .............100 mg*
Pantothenic Acid B5..................100 mg
Pyridoxine B6..........................100 mg
Biotin.................................. 100 mcg
Cyanocobalamin B12..................100 mcg
Folic Acid...............................400 mcg
Choline..................................100 mg
Inositol..................................100 mg
PABA p-aminobenzoic acid...........100 mg

NHT
©2013

*some people who are sensitive to B3 as niacin will experience what is known as a "niacin flush" -  typically a sense of tingling and heat - while this may be alarming, it is temporary and simply means you have gotten enough - B3 is also available as 'niacinamide' which does not cause the flush