What the Linus Pauling Institute at OSU has to Say about B6

The good folks out at the Linus Pauling supply some great information about the wonderful Vitamin B6. The articel covers topics from Nervous system function, Red blood cell formation and function, Niacin formation, Hormone function, Nucleic acid synthesis, Deficiency, The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), Disease Prevention, Immune function, Cognitive function, Kidney stones, Disease Treatment and great Sources. If any of those ticle your fancy go check it out, just follow the link below.

Full Atricle

Too Much of This Good Vitamin, Is Not a Good Thing!

Since I have supplied you all with so much information about how great Vitamins B6 and B12 are. Upon coming across this article, i thought it was also my duty to warn you of the dangers of megadoses of these vitamins; more specifically B6. Our mothers always told us how important it was for us to take our vitamins, but never reminded us that over dosage could be ultimately harmful. The article warns " research confirms that vitamin B6 can be neurotoxic (nerve-damaging) in amounts over 200 mg a day".

(To get the full article click here)

Vitamin B12:
Vital Nutrient for Good Health

By Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD

This article is full of great information on vitamin B 12. It covers the function of this key micronutrient, its absorbtion, how to test for a deficiency in B 12, as well as is effects on againg and other diseases.

One of the most important nutrients we get from animal foods is vitamin B12. The vitamin is also the largest known biomolecule and the only nutrient with a stable carbon-metal bond. One molecule of cobalt lies at the center of each B12 molecule, which has the approximate (and awesome!) chemical formula of C61-64H84-90N14O13-14PCo. Isolated B12 is a crystalline compound with a bright red color, due to the presence of cobalt. One practitioner has referred to B12 as "those ruddy drops that cheer sad hearts and strengthen faint hearts."¹

Vitamin B12 works with folic acid in many body processes including synthesis of DNA, red blood cells and the insulation sheath (the myelin sheath) that surrounds nerve cells and facilitates the conduction of signals in the nervous system. Severe depletion manifests as pernicious anemia, which was invariably fatal until the discovery of B12 in liver. But long before anemia sets in, other conditions may manifest, most often neurological problems (numbness, pins and needles sensations, a burning feeling in the feet, shaking, muscle fatigue, sleep disorders, memory loss, irrational anger, impaired mental function and Alzheimer’s) or psychological conditions (dementia, depression, psychosis and obsessive-compulsive behavior). President Kennedy has been quoted as having said he would never have become president without injections of B12.²

^{Follow this link to read the full article:}

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Vitamins Help Treat Depression

Researchers in Finland are conducting tests to confirm their hypothesis that patients suffering from depression responded much better to treatment when they had high levels of Vitamin B12 in their blood.

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/headlines/11152/Vitamins_Help_Treat_Depression.html

Vitamins B6 and B12: Power Vitamins

In the world of micronutrients we are all familiar with the chewable Flinstone vitamins our parents would give us, we all know about he so familiar vitamin C (especially when we are feeling like we are sick) and we all know how calcium is good for our bones. However, those paying attention to the sports world over the past couple years have heard of this little B vitamins called B6 and B12, and this is what interested me about this nutrient. The most recent story involving vitamins B6 and B12 was centered around Olympic sprinter and world record holder Justin Gatlin who tested positive for a banned substance. Gatlin claimed that he thought the injection he received was a B12 shot rather that the performance-enhancing drug that he tested positive for.
So what is vitamin B12 and B6, and what does it do that high profile athletes would be taking it, or even “confusing” it with steroids? B vitamins are water soluble vitamins that are used to help convert protein and carbs to energy, manage the release of glucose from glycogen, and are the necessary for the normal function of the brain, nervous system and blood formation.
According to "Body, Mind, and the B Vitamins" by Ruth Adams and Frank Murray irritability and grumpiness are symptoms of a Vitamin B deficiency. B12 shots are emerging as a new fad in energy boosts, as opposed to caffeine. This vitamin is gaining favor with many people on the go such as actors, politicians and have long been in use by major league baseball players who were in need of an energy boost during the long, grueling season since amphetamines or “greenies” had been banned several years ago. In fact, researchers at Oregon State University found that athletes with low intake of Vitamin B could not perform at the same rate as their Vitamin B rich counter parts during high intensity work-outs.

Works Cited:

• Wikipedia, B Vitamins (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B_vitamins)
• MD Sport- Sport Nutrition, Vitamins and Minerals (http://www.medicdirectsport.com/sportsnutrition/default.asp?step=4&pid=90)
• Health Mad, B12 Shots: the Newest energy Booster (http://www.healthmad.com/Health/B12-Shots:-The-Newest-Energy-Booster.16580)
• About.com:Sports Medicine, B Vitamins and Athletic Performance (http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/a/B_Vitamins.htm)

Multivariate statistical analysis comparing sport and energy drinks
This article examines the effectiveness of nutrients (including vitamin B6 and B12) in sport and energy drinks, as well as comparing and contrasting the two.

file:///Users/whatupmo15/Desktop/B12%20B6%20sportsdrink%20.pdf

Both Major League Baseball Player
Rafael Palmeiro (below) and Olympic Sprinter Justin Gatlin (above) claimed they thought the injections they had received were B12 Shots, rather than Anabolic Steroids.