Solgar Vitamin B Supplement

What is Vitamin B?
When people say vitamin B, they're probably referring to just one of eight different vitamins that make up the vitamin B complex family. The individual B vitamins are biotin, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pryidoxine, cobalamin and folic acid. The B vitamins play a critical role in several systems throughout your body. Cell growth and division, healthy skin and muscles, proper function of the eyes and liver, and a healthy immune and nervous system all rely heavily on the presence of B vitamins. B vitamins also enable your body to metabolize the foods you eat; specifically, they are necessary to breakdown carbohydrates and fat into glucose and proteins respectively, which provides usable energy for your body and maintains normal functioning of your nervous system. Many energy drinks, energy boosting supplements, and "fat burning" consumer products contain high concentrations of vitamin B because of its ability to breakdown fats and carbohydrates.

How much do I need?
Each of the individual B vitamins have a recommended daily allowance, or RDA. The RDA for the individual B vitamins for adults are as follows: 300 micrograms of biotin, 1.2 milligrams of thiamine, 1.7 milligrams of riboflavin, 20 milligrams of niacin, 2 milligrams of pryidoxine, 3 micrograms of cobalamin, and 180 micrograms of folic acid for women or 200 micrograms for men. It may seem a bit overwhelming that each of the eight B vitamins has its own RDA, but it's actually really simple to consume sufficient amounts of each for a couple of reasons. First, B vitamins are water soluble, meaning that it's easy for your body to pass any excess in your urine and very difficult to consume enough to be toxic – so you rarely need to worry about getting too much; and second, all of the B vitamins occur in many natural foods and in dietary supplements in more than sufficient amounts.

Where can I find it?
All the B vitamins in the vitamin B complex family can be found in almost all natural foods, and in many processed foods as well. Some particularly good sources of B vitamins include fish, chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, bananas, lentils, beans and molasses. As previously mentioned, recommended daily allowances of the B vitamins range quite a bit from one to the other, but a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables, and animal proteins is certain to contain enough B vitamins to stay healthy. Many energy drinks and supplements contain tens times the amount of vitamin B that you need. If you're concerned about the diversity or quality of your diet, you can always consider regularly taking a vitamin B or multivitamin supplement.

How will I know if I'm not getting enough?
Vitamin B occurs in so many of the foods and drinks that we consume, that you'll rarely need to worry about deficiency. However unlikely it is to become vitamin B deficient with a healthy diet and vitamin supplements, it can still occur in rare cases. B vitamins are so essential to human health that deficiency is very dangerous. Symptoms include weight loss, weakness and pain in the limbs, cracked lips, mental confusion, memory loss, paralysis, irregular heartbeat, and high sensitivity to sunlight. It's important to remember that due to the sufficient concentration of B vitamins in a normal diet, exhibiting these symptoms in most cases is far more likely to indicate a different ailment.