A slowdown in your metabolism, marked by fatigue and other symptoms, may indicate a risk for vitamin B deficiency. If your vitamin B intake drops, your body may produce fewer red blood cells. When this happens, the rate at which oxygen and nutrients are carried throughout the body falls, along with the rate of cellular metabolism, which you may experience as low physical energy. Increasing your B vitamin intake through diet or supplements, or by addressing an underlying medical issue, can restore normal metabolic function.
Causes of Vitamin B Deficiency
It can take some time for ongoing poor nutrition to result in specific nutrient deficiencies, and more time for symptoms of low blood count to appear. Alternatively, your dietary intake of vitamins can shift and decrease rapidly when you focus on new or limited ranges of foods. Your body may also fail to absorb the B vitamins that you get from foods, such as in people over age 50 whose bodies lose their affinity for natural vitamin B-12. Whatever the cause, vitamin B deficiency interferes with blood-cell synthesis, and you must address it to speed up your metabolism.
Other Causes for Inefficient Metabolism
Getting more vitamin B may not be the answer to your health concerns. Because many foods contain both iron and B vitamins, you may have multiple malnutrition issues that contribute to low red blood cell production. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute relates that blood loss and changes in blood composition during pregnancy can prompt anemic conditions. Your doctor can help you determine whether vitamin B intake is the source of slow metabolism.
Dietary Improvements
Eating a balanced diet every day will provide the full range of eight B vitamins that your body needs for various processes, including blood-cell maintenance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends getting adequate vitamins from foods rather than supplement pills, for food's additional nutrient benefits. You can bump up your levels of various B vitamins by eating more spinach, beans, grains, fish, eggs, meats and milk products. Some fortified cereals make the strongest dietary contributions of vitamins such as B-6, B-12 and folate per suggested serving.
Medical Management
If your vitamin B stores have fallen to unsafe levels, you may be unable to increase them fast enough through dietary measures alone. Your doctor may order vitamin B-complex or other supplements to increase your metabolism. Some underlying medical issues, such as aplastic and sickle cell anemia, prompt the body to destroy living blood cells. Your doctor will have to treat these conditions apart from any B vitamin deficiency to improve your metabolic balance.
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