Stress, anxiety, and depression appear to be epidemic in our modern culture. Recent studies reveal that nearly 1 in 4 Americans are currently taking prescription mental health medication. Reasons for this increased societal anxiety may be difficult to determine. Many blame demonic social media, poor nutrition, and pathetic sleep habits. Some believe the lowered stigma regarding mental health issues may play a role. Include with this a toxic political climate, frightening current events, and the state of world affairs. I would also add an increasing lack of genuine spiritual connection, declining faith in God and subsequent shrinking church attendance as factors. As our once stable societal foundation is shaken in this country, many find them selves stressed, anxious, and depressed. While simple answers to hard problems are difficult to some by, here is something that might offer significant help vitamin B12. Medical research has shown that B12 can be effective in treating anxiety and depression in humans.
I first learned the value of vi tamin B in the garden with my tomato plants. Transplant shock was avoided when plants were watered with added vitamin B.
This vitamin B benefit was no ticed elsewhere as well. When hauling horses for my wife (I married into a horse family), often they were given vitamin B shots to ease stress in transit. Vitamin B always appeared to have a calming effect on the horses.
Perhaps the most convincing confirmation of the stress reducing benefits of vitamin B hit me in the classroom. I have mentioned in this column before that I was a teacher in my past life. Teaching is a high stress job, given the fact that it is almost a certainty that within the population of every class you teach you will have at least one student whose primary purpose in life is to inflict as much misery and conflict upon authority as possible. Teaching was always stressful. But, as long as I had sufficient vitamin B in my system, I could deal with Meryl and his serial flatulence, devil boy Omar, and Neil, the kid with yellow eyes and a fondness for projectile vomiting.
As one of the basic building blocks of life, vitamin B12 is a terrific anti-depressant and stress reliever. Vitamin B promotes the production of nerve cell membranes and red blood cells, regulates the expression of our DNA, and plays a role in producing brain chemicals that affect our mood and other mental functions. Vitamin B helps protect your brain and nervous system. It keeps your immune system functioning properly and helps regulate rest and sleep cycles. Severe deficiency in vita min B12 has been linked to deep depression, delusions and paranoia, memory loss and brain fog, incontinence, the loss of taste and smell, and even physical brain shrinkage and dementia.
It is estimated that as much as 2/5 of the population is severely deficient in B12. Reasons for this vary. Poor diet, dysbiosis (disrupted gut flora), use of acid reflux meds and diabetes drugs are contributing factors. Health-conscious vegans and vegetarians are especially at risk and need to be extra vigilant about their vitamin B levels. The richest sources of vitamin B12 are animal products beef, fish, pork, poultry, and eggs.
Could our societal anxiety and depression be the result of vita- min B12 deficiency? Might you be able to ease stress and cure depression and other symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, headache, etc.) with a supplement costing only pennies a day? I suggest we try.
When shopping for vitamin B12, you should know that it comes in different forms. Most common is cyanocobalamin this is less expensive, but not natural. The most desirable form is methylcobalmin. This is the form produced by our gut bacteria, and therefore natural. It is also important to note that vitamin B12 is only one of eight B vitamins.
When shopping for your B vitamins, you can either buy B12 or B complex. B complex will include not only vitamin B12, but the other B vitamins as well. Do your own research to decide what is best for you. B12 deficiency is most common because it is the form not found in plants. B12 is found only in animal products. As mentioned before, for those adhering to a “plant-based diet” this can be a problem. And fudging by occasionally eating a hamburger or plate of scrambled eggs won’t help. B vitamins are water soluble and as such cannot be stored in the body. You can’t overdose on vitamin B your body excretes what you don’t use. But this means that you need a good intake of vitamin B every day. Especially for vegans and vegetarians, B12 supplement is needed daily.
If you find yourself stressed and depressed, a dose of vitamin B12 might be just what you need. Try it today!
© 2023 Jody Dyer
