Deficiencies in vitamin B12 or problems absorbing vitamin B12 may lower metabolism and contribute to health practices that promote weight gain. Symptoms can include irritability, anxiety, depression, muscular weakness and fatigue, according to American Family Physician. Compensate for B12 absorption problems by taking vitamin B12 supplements or by getting vitamin B12 injections. These interventions will not directly cause weight loss but they can enhance metabolism and bolster your efforts to engage in healthful behavior.
Metabolism Boost
Vitamin B12 enhances metabolism, which enhances how efficiently your body utilizes calories that you consume. B12 metabolizes proteins so they are absorbed without being stored as fat. Vitamin B12 also assists in the metabolism of carbohydrates so they are not converted to triglyceride fat, and it assists the body to metabolize fat, according to Methods of Healing. In short, B12, raises the efficiency with which your body burns proteins, carbs and fat.
More Energy
Vitamin B12 is needed to metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins for the production of energy. Those who have B12 deficiencies or problems absorbing vitamin B12 often suffer from fatigue and weakness, according to American Family Physician. They can lack the motivation and energy needed to engage in a daily exercise program. Restoring your body's balance of B12 can enhance your energy so you can get back to the gym or at least back to a higher activity level. The weight loss won't come from the B12 so much as from the calories you burn channeling your renewed energy into increased activity, suggests the website, MethodsofHealing.com.
Better Mood
Vitamin B12 deficiency usually develops over an extended period of time, and you don't even notice yourself slipping into greater bouts of depression or spells of anxiety. People who are depressed, fatigued and anxious often eat as a means of coping with their feelings, reports diet and weight-loss authority, Edward Abramson, Ph.D. You may eat when fatigued as a way to feel energized. The types of foods that people choose when looking for that quick energy boost often include high-calorie, high-fat foods that are quickly transformed into blood glucose, according to Psychology Today. You may also eat when feeling depressed or anxious to increase the availability of brain chemicals that calm and enhance mood, such as tryptophan and serotonin. Emotional eating, as it is called, promotes the consumption of high calorie, quickly-metabolized foods that tend to evoke a yo-yo cycle of eating followed by a sugar crash, followed by more eating. Vitamin B12 won't eliminate emotional eating, but it can temper the emotional waves that fuel your self-soothing behavior.
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