What is the Difference Between Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B Complex?
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Our bodies are incredible machines that keep our hearts pumping, brains thinking, and many other natural processes running just right. But like all machines, our bodies function best when they’re filled with the right stuff, like essential minerals, fluids, and vitamins.
Most people who want to feel their best know that they need to fuel their bodies with vitamins and minerals that promote optimum health. That’s why so many people turn to health supplements and IV therapy to get potent doses of vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B12, or B complex.
All these vitamins can help you become healthier, and you can get all of them through IV treatments from Mobile IV Nurses. But which ones do you need the most? And what is the difference between B12 and B complex, anyway?
At Mobile IV Nurses, we want you to understand how vitamins affect your body, so you can make the best choices for your health needs. Let’s take a look at how various B vitamins affect your body.
What Vitamins are in the B Complex?
Before we can compare a vitamin B complex vs. B12, it’s important to understand what each of these terms mean. B12 refers to one water-soluble vitamin that’s also known as cobalamin. This vitamin is essential for many of your body’s processes — in fact, every one of your cells needs B12 to function properly.
In contrast, vitamin B complex is a supplement made from a combination of up to eight B vitamins (including B12) that help your body perform at its best. In addition to B12,B complexes may contain any of the following:
- B1 (thiamine): This vitamin helps convert nutrients into energy, and it also promotes proper nerve function and a healthy immune system.
- B2 (riboflavin): Riboflavin also helps convert food into energy. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that helps fight free radicals to keep you healthy.
- B3 (niacin): This vitamin plays a role in several bodily processes, including metabolism, brain function, nervous system, and digestive processes.
- B5 (pantothenic acid): Like many B vitamins, B5 helps convert the food you eat into energy. It also helps support the production of hormones and cholesterol.
- B6 (pyridoxine): Vitamin B6 plays a very important role in energy production, brain development, and a healthy nervous system. It also helps regulate your hormones and blood glucose levels.
- B7 (biotin): Biotin helps your body metabolize carbohydrates and fats. It also helps regulate blood sugar, and there is some research to suggest it can promote hair growth.
- B9 (folate): This vitamin helps support red blood cell production. It is especially important for pregnant women to get plenty of vitamin B9, as it helps reduce their baby’s risk of birth defects in the brain and spine.
Each of the nutrients in a vitamin B complex can help improve your health in many ways. And when you get your vitamins from an IV infusion, you can get near-instant results that make you feel better than ever.
The Functions of B12 and Vitamin B Complex
By now, you can probably see why a vitamin B complex can enhance your well-being. Each B vitamin offers tremendous benefits that can help you become your healthiest self! But the greatest perk of a B complex is how it helps your body convert nutrients into energy. This helps you get the most from your diet, supplements, and other elements of your wellness routine.
And what about B12? This vitamin also helps with energy production, but its benefits go even further. B12 plays a vital role in DNA production and the production of brain, nerve, and red blood cells. It can even help reduce homocysteine levels in your blood, reducing the risk of dementia, heart attack, and stroke. This vitamin is also essential for your metabolism, which makes it a popular supplement for people looking to lose weight.
At Mobile IV Nurses, we offer our patients both vitamin B12 and a B complex. Our B complex contains:
- B1 (thiamine)
- B2 (riboflavin)
- B3 (niacin)
- B5 (pantothenic acid)
- B6 (pyridoxine)
These vitamins can help you re-energize and reduce symptoms like fatigue, migraines, indigestion, and more. Our IV treatments allow your body to absorb high quantities of each vitamin, so you can replenish your system and help prevent deficiencies.
Is a Vitamin B12 Deficiency Common?
While B vitamins are essential to your health, many of them cannot synthesize naturally in your body. This means you must get these vitamins from external sources, like supplements, IV treatments, or the food you eat. For example, you can get vitamin B12 from eating beef, liver, poultry, fish, and eggs. However, some people struggle with a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Research from the National Institutes of Health suggests that anywhere from 3 to 43 percent of American adults have a vitamin B12 deficiency. Those who are most at risk include:
- People age 50 or older
- People with pernicious anemia
- People with gastrointestinal conditions like Crohn’s disease
- People who have had weight loss surgery
- Vegans or vegetarians
- Alcoholics or heavy smokers
If you fall into one of these risk categories, it’s important to keep an eye out for signs of vitamin B12 deficiency. These can include a “pins and needles” sensation in your hands or feet, balance problems, a swollen tongue, brain fog, and weakness or fatigue. If you experience these symptoms, it might be time to schedule an appointment with your doctor and find out if you need extra vitamin B12.
How Can I Get More Vitamin B?
Like vitamin B12, you can get most other B vitamins from the foods you eat. Meats like salmon, liver, beef, and oysters are rich in B vitamins, as well as leafy greens, milk, and eggs. Eating a balanced diet can help you get B vitamins (not to mention all the other vital nutrients in healthy foods).
But healthy foods are not the only way to get the B vitamins you need. You can also take oral supplements or use IV therapy (our favorite option) to replenish your vitamin levels. IV therapy is especially helpful because it bypasses your digestive system, which allows your body to absorb more of these nutrients than an oral supplement or meal would. This gives your body plenty of vitamins so you can achieve peak performance.
But how does it work? Here's a quick explanation on IV therapy:
When you make an appointment for IV therapy with Mobile IV Nurses, we will send one of our highly qualified medical professionals straight to your door. After a quick health assessment, we'll set you up with an infusion specially selected to target your needs.
You can just sit back and relax while the B12, B complex, and other vitamins and minerals drip directly into your bloodstream. This allows your body to use the vitamins right away, which means you can start to recover and find symptom relief almost immediately. And when you're done, you won't have any recovery time! You can just go about your day feeling healthy and hydrated.
How to Choose Between Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B Complex
If you’re still wondering, “Should I take B12 or B complex?” We’ve got good news: You don’t have to choose! Mobile IV Nurses offers both options in our Myers’ Cocktail and as vitamin add-ins.
Our IVs will give you all the B vitamins you need to be energized, alert, and ready to take on the day. And best of all, you can get all those benefits from the comfort of your own home.
Can you take Vitamin B Complex and B12 Together?
Research shows vitamin B12 and B complex are safe to take together. However, it's important to note that many B complex vitamins already contain B12. If you do want to take both vitamins, make sure to maximize the benefit by finding a B complex blend that contains other essential vitamins.
If you want to improve your overall health, try a Myers’ Cocktail to get a healthy dose of vitamin B12 and B complex. Or, if you’re simply looking for an energy boost, add some B12 to a bag of pure saline. Our team of registered nurses will help you find the right combination of vitamins, minerals, and medications for your unique health needs, and they’ll keep you safe and comfortable throughout the infusion process.
Don’t worry about choosing vitamin B12 vs. B complex — improve your health by getting both! Mobile IV Nurses makes it easy to give your body the stuff it needs to keep you feeling healthy and strong. We have teams ready to serve patients throughout the United States, so we can help you ASAP!
Contact our team if you have any questions about IV therapy. We’re happy to answer your questions, tell you more about our services and the other areas we serve! Or, if you're ready to try IV therapy, check out our schedule online to book your next infusion.
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