Feel like you’re running on empty, constantly fighting something off, or cognitively stuck in the mud?
Sometimes, the best way to put the “B” back in “Being your Best” can be found via supporting a specific set of vitamins:
B vitamins play crucial roles in energy production, brainpower, and immune system function. In fact, your immune system needs these essential vitamins to create antibodies, the cells your body uses to fight off germs.
But getting enough B isn’t always easy… Boosting your body’s B vitamin supply involves more than just eating the right foods or taking a B-complex vitamin supplement.
Why It’s Hard to Get Enough B
Even if you eat a diet rich in vitamin B… even if you take the highest quality B vitamin supplements, your body could still be short on supplies.
Here’s why:
Your body has a constant demand for B vitamins, so it needs a constant supply. Every cell in every system in your body relies on B vitamins every day. The B team makes sure every cell in your body can function at full capacity, along with specific jobs such as:
- Converting food into energy
- Producing neurotransmitters (brain chemicals)
- Creating fresh new blood cells
- Keeping cellular DNA intact
Because B vitamins are water-soluble, your body can’t store them – meaning: you can’t stock up.
So giving your body access to a continuous supply of all 8 B vitamins is crucial… but even that might be enough.
Three key factors affect your B vitamin status:
- Intake – how much you get through diet, including supplements
- Absorption – how well your body digests, processes, and uses the B vitamins you take in
- Theft – how well your gut microbiome protects your B vitamin stash from pathogens looking to deplete it
If any one of those factors tips the wrong way, you’ll be B-deficient, and start feeling run down.
But there is a way to make sure all three work in your favor… (more on that below)
The B Line Up
Some B vitamins – especially B12 and B9 (folate) – steal a lot of the attention.
But... Your body uses all 8 essential B vitamins every day! Here’s a quick look at some of the critical functions each one performs:
B1 – thiamine – breaks down sugars, manages blood sugar, creates neurotransmitters (important brain chemicals), produces hormones
B2 – riboflavin – produces energy, breaks down fats, promotes healthy skin
B3 – niacin – converts food into energy, helps cells communicate with each other, helps enzymes perform critical functions
B5 – pantothenic acid – creates fresh proteins, increases cellular energy production, maintains healthy skin and hair
B6 – pyridoxine – creates red blood cells, form new immune cells, produces serotonin and dopamine (two important brain chemicals)
B7 – biotin – strengthens hair and nails, breaks down macronutrients (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), and regulates cellular DNA
B9 – folate – ensures proper DNA replication and cell division – making it extra important during pregnancy – and helps break down and use vitamins and amino acids (Folic acid is the synthetic form of vitamin B9. Folate is the natural form.)
B12 – cobalamin – creates red and white blood cells, regulates immune system function, supports healthy brain and nerve function, helps the body use folate, protects DNA from damage
As you can see, B vitamins keep your body functioning, your immune system strong, and your energy tank full. And when you’re running low on any of them, you’ll feel it.
Signs You May Be Low on Bs
Running low on your vitamin B supplies can cause a wide variety of symptoms – even if you don’t have a diagnosed B deficiency.
Some signs that you’re not getting enough B vitamins include:
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Dry skin and chapped lips
- Brittle nails
- Thinning hair
- Brain fog
- Decreased appetite
- Headaches
- Insomnia
Luckily, replenishing your B vitamin supply can have you feeling fine in no time, and restore your energy and vitality.
Are You Getting Enough B Vitamins?
Many whole foods contain B vitamins, but you have to eat a lot of those healthy foods every day to get an adequate daily supply.
That can be especially hard for people who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. Vitamin B12 is found in only animal-based foods like eggs, meats, and dairy products. And while niacin (vitamin B3) can be found in some plants, the niacin found in animal-based foods is substantially more bioavailable. So avoiding those foods can put you at a higher risk for these B deficiencies.
Plus, older people, pregnant women, and people with certain medical issues (such as Crohn’s disease, diabetes, celiac disease, and kidney disease) need an extra supply of daily B vitamins to stay as healthy as possible.
Sometimes, though, you can be consuming enough B vitamins through diet and supplements, but still end up running low…
Factors That Interfere with B Absorption, And What To Do
Even if you’re taking in enough B vitamins, your body may not be able to use them. That’s because a lot of things keep your body from fully absorbing B vitamins:
- Many medications, including birth control pills, proton pump inhibitors, and diabetes drugs
- Conditions that interfere with nutrient absorption, including IBD (inflammatory bowel disease)
- Autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
- Alcohol consumption
- Weight loss surgery
- Advancing age
If this is your B issue, loading up on vitamin supplements and B-rich foods will help some, but not enough to bring your body into optimal B status every day.
But there is a simple way to bypass digestion and absorption issues:
Load up your gut microbiome with beneficial bacteria that can double as B vitamin factories.
Many strains of helpful bacteria (probiotics) can produce B vitamins right in your gut, doing an end run around the whole digestion process and landing exactly where they need to be for optimal absorption.
And those beneficial bacteria can also help police another common B vitamin problem…
Taking on B Vitamin Thieves
Bacteria that don’t produce B vitamins are left with only one choice: Steal it.
Bacterial thieves populate your digestive tract waiting for a fresh supply of B vitamins to pass their way. At the first sign of B vitamins, they latch onto and utilize it need before you get a chance to absorb them.
That means that when you’re doing everything right – consuming plenty of B vitamins every day – you may still not have enough B vitamins in your system to stay healthy.
The best way to take on these B thieves? Crowd them out with beneficial B-producing bacteria.
Spore Probiotics Boost Your B
Spore probiotics have significant advantages over other types of probiotic supplements you can buy. These strains are tough, surviving extreme conditions that kill other probiotics.
Spore probiotics can stand high heat (like your body temperature) and freezing cold. They survive harsh digestive acids. And they arrive in your gut 100% alive and ready to work.
And that includes making sure your body has all the B vitamins it needs for you to stay healthy and vital.
In fact, spore probiotics increase your vitamin B supplies in multiple ways:
- Crowd out pathogenic bacteria that compete for B vitamins
- Create a safe, nourishing microbiome where B-producing beneficial bacteria can multiply and thrive
- Produce B vitamins themselves
When spore probiotics get your gut microbiome in shape, B production will increase along with absorption… helping you get your full daily supply of all 8 essential B vitamins.
Turn Your Gut Microbiome Into a B Vitamin Factory
The four clinically studied spore probiotics in Just Thrive help ensure you get a steady supply of 100% bioavailable B vitamins every day.
In fact, Just Thrive Probiotic is the ONLY product on the market that contains Bacillus Indicus HU36®.
This proprietary spore-based strain has the unique ability (and has been clinically proven) to pass through your stomach unharmed where it then produces antioxidants directly in your digestive system.
This is incredibly important because your digestive system is where antioxidants are BEST absorbed by the body!
With Just Thrive, your body becomes a super-antioxidant factory at the site where the most critical antioxidant nutrients (CoQ10, beta carotene, lycopene, etc) are absorbed!
Get your gut microbiome in balance and maximize your body’s own vitamin B factory with Just Thrive.
