As we move along in the complex of B vitamins, which you are beginning to realize how great the importance of this particular set of vitamins is on your health, you will also learn how much they work together as a complex and why you need to keep them together as a group in your daily supplementation of them.

It takes all of the B vitamins to keep up with the proper maintenance of our central nervous system, and keep us from having to deal with depression and/or anxiety, or even the physiological problems that can come along with daily stress.

There are many physiological functions that these B vitamins maintain, including the GI tract, the proper function of our brain, and our systems of the eyes, skin, hair, nerves, and liver.

And it takes the whole complex of these B vitamins to properly keep us in energy producing mode as well. They even call these B vitamins coenzymes, because they assist in the chemical reactions of enzymes.

As we will see in this article, a deficiency in one of the B complex vitamins means there is also have a deficiency in one of the other B vitamins. They are definitely a complex. They work together as a complex too.

While these food sources do keep you in the right category of healthy, there are some times when you just need more than what food can give you.

I have been supplementing my health with a B Complex Vitamin since I was 35. I began this regimen then, because that is the age when your body begins its decline of working like a youth. This is when everything is normally just going to be okay, unless you already have a condition, because in youth your body is in growth mode, and your body works its’ fastest, which includes repair, when you are in growth mode.

So I have been taking this B Complex Vitamin for 25 years now and I can feel the difference, and the doctor can see the difference in my blood labs if I discontinue taking even this one B Complex Vitamin.

The amount of energy I get from these B Vitamins is what we all need at my age.

Of course, it is added to the energy I get from taking the substantial amount of Vitamin C that I take as well. I believe in the Dr. Linus Pauling theory of taking a certain amount of grams of vitamin C daily.

Vitamin C will give you plenty of energy too, and it also keeps my cholesterol in check. That is another thing that happened in my blood labs. When I stopped taking my Vitamin C for a while (they told me that I could not take vitamin C while I was being treated with radiation for my illness, and I had to stop taking my three grams of vitamin C daily until I was done with the radiation), my energy went away, and my cholesterol went up for the first time in my life.

The Rest Of The Story

Vitamin B9, or folic acid, or folate, is usually called a brain food and is necessary for: energy production; strengthening your immunity; proper functioning of the white blood cells, and also the proper formation of white blood cells and red blood cells, as well as DNA and RNA synthesis; protein metabolism, cell division, and cell replication. It is also required for the production of tissue cells, prenatal nourishment, normal growth, and a healthy intestinal tract.

Food sources of vitamin B9, or folic acid, or folate, are: baker's yeast, sunflower seeds, beef liver, turnip greens, peas, whole grains, spinach, and dried beans.

Some deficiencies of vitamin B9, or folic acid, or folate, are graying hair, anemia, fatigue, memory problems, and insomnia.

Vitamin B12, or Cobalamins, are probably the most well-known of the B vitamins, but the word Cobalamin is not used very often. B12 is known to prevent nerve damage and anemia, and many people as they age are known to have to get vitamin B12 injections from their doctors.

Vitamin B12 aids in cellular longevity; promoting normal growth; learning and memory, the absorption of foods; metabolism of fats and carbohydrates; the utilization of iron; and proper digestion. But vitamin B12's most important use is in normal development, and it is by protecting the fatty sheaths covering the nerve endings. This is the most important thing if you happen to be trying to stave off Multiple sclerosis (MS).

You could generally say that vitamin B12 is mainly for:

1. Proper function of blood formation

2. Proper brain function

3. Proper functioning of the central nervous system.

Food sources of vitamin B12, or Cobalamins, are: good organic whole milk, Swiss chard, Dong Quai, beef liver, oysters, and raw eggs.

Some deficiencies of vitamin B12 or Cobalamins, can be: the pernicious anemia problem which has been known for quite some time now, and megaloblastosis. The deficiency symptoms of this vitamin are the symptoms for the vitamin B9, sometimes called Folate or Folic Acid. They interact with each other so in concert they can become deficient or non-deficient together.

Folate is made from Cobalamins so if you are deficient in one, then you are definitely deficient in the other, since the vitamin B12 is what regenerates the amount of Folate in the body. And then, when the Folate is in the sufficient amount, the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency also go away.

The rest of the Complex of B Vitamins

1. There are a few other components involved in the vitamin B complex and Choline is one of them.

The B vitamin Choline is necessary for: gallbladder regulation; brain and memory function; liver function; mental clarity and mental function; hormone production; cholesterol metabolism; and fat metabolism; proper transmission of nerve impulses; and even Parkinson's Disease and tardive dyskinesia.

Food sources of Choline are: one of the other B vitamins in the complex....first of all there is lecithin as the best source of choline, then egg yolks, meat, beans (legumes), whole grains, soybeans.

Some deficiencies of Choline are: infertility, the compromising of the renal functions, kidney necrosis, bone abnormalities, fatty liver, growth impairment, Alzheimer's Disease, bi-polar disorder, high blood pressure, and a Choline deficiency is known to promote cancer, or even initiate cancer.

2. Another one of the B complex vitamins is Inositol, or vitamin B8. This is the one that had the name of Vitamin B8 until it was discovered that there is some Inositol made inside our bodies, and that is what declassifies it as a vitamin. Inositol is a natural sugar that is synthesized inside your body.

The B vitamin Inositol is another one of those B vitamins that aids in reducing cholesterol, and preventing hardening of the arteries. It has a calming effect on the body, and it is required for hair growth, as well as being very important in the metabolism of cholesterol and fats.

This compound, in its many different forms, is of great necessity in the communication between one cell and another, and for nerve transmissions throughout your body. This is of extreme importance in the muscles, liver, and brain tissues.

It also makes quite a difference in maintaining the proper levels of cholesterol, and especially in the maintenance of skin cells for controlling eczema and psoriasis, and in the maintenance of cardiovascular health as well.

Inositol is also a compound that protects your body naturally from the peripheral neuritis that generally comes with diabetes.

It can be a natural factor in treating constipation because it stimulates the muscles in the GI tract.

Food sources of Inositol are: egg yolk, legumes, brewer's yeast, fruits and vegetables, meats, whole grains, raisins, and milk.

Some deficiencies of Inositol are: constipation, high blood cholesterol, hair loss, skin eruptions, mood swings, irritability, and arteriosclerosis. Not having been established as such but it has been discovered that people with low levels of Inositol in their cerebrospinal fluid are also tested and diagnosed with depression, clinically, as well as other mental, yet physiological, problems like bi-polar and uni-polar disorders, OCD, panic disorder, and even bulimia. These people have shown great improvement with treatments of Inositol.

Next we will find out what you need to know about the other vitamins.