Are vitamin B12 injections useful for losing weight?

Many centers specializing in slimming diets, especially in the United States, recommend vitamin B12 injections to their clients to promote weight loss. But does this treatment really help reduce body fat?

Vitamin B12 is water soluble and It participates in the formation of blood, in the replication of the DNA structure and in the production of energy in the cell, among other functions. It is especially important for the health of the nervous system, specifically the brain and the heart.

Tiredness and weight gain are two of the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, because it is essential for the conversion of nutrients into energy.

When the deficiency was resolved with a supplement, an increase in the energy level, an activation of the metabolism and a decrease in weight were experienced. That’s why some have believed that it might be helpful for weight loss.

Actually not tested that when B12 levels are optimal, an added dose may be of some use in the treatment of obesity.

Vitamin B12 deficiency affects many people

Vitamin B12 is found in significant doses and in an assimilable form exclusively in food of animal origin, so people who follow a vegetarian diet should supplement.

Even lacto-ovo vegetarians who consume eggs and dairy should do so because to get enough vitamin B12 they would need to consume several servings of these products a day, which may not be healthy.

Although the required amounts of vitamin B12 are very small, deficiency is not rare. especially among the elderly and people with chronic digestive problems.

Medications such as acid blockers and diabetes medication metformin they also favor vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 and fat metabolism

Studies indicate that vitamin B12 may directly affect fat metabolism. In 2020, for example, in the magazine Nutrients A number of epidemiological and animal studies have been published showing the connection between vitamin B12 and metabolic syndrome, prestage diabetes.

A study of 256 children noted that those with low levels of vitamin B12 also tended to have a higher body mass index than children of normal weight.

Another study 6 with more than 9,000 participants confirmed that people with balanced levels of vitamin B12 have a lower risk of being overweight.

Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency

In its pronounced form, vitamin B12 deficiency can cause what is known as pernicious or megaloblastic anemia.

In this problem, the number of red blood cells decreases and those that remain increase in size. It can cause various symptoms such as shortness of breath, headache, palpitations, fatigue, dizziness, and memory loss.

In relation to weight, the deficiency is more likely to favor an increase but in some people it reduces it because it causes them loss of appetite.

How to supplement with vitamin B12

In conclusion, in some people B12 deficiency and being overweight can be associated, which does not justify that all people interested in losing kilos benefit from supplementation.

In general, vegetarians are recommended a weekly dose of 2,000 mcg in the form of a cyanocobalamin.

The injections are only justified by the presence of some intestinal absorption disorder and must be done under medical supervision.

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