Benefits of Consuming Synthetic Vitamin B Complex & Its Side Effects

Vitamins are organic substances required by the body in small amounts for its proper functioning. Yet many of these vitamins are not adequately manufactured in the body, our body meets its requirement by absorbing these vitamins from the food that we eat (vegetables, pulses and lentils, brown rice, liver, yeast, fish and other sea food, cereals and grains etc).

Deficiencies occur due to poor dietary intake, or illnesses that may prevent the absorption of vitamins or destroy them. These B vitamins are riboflavin, thiamin, niacin, folate, pyridoxine, vitamin B12, vitamin B5, vitamin B7. All the eight B vitamins have different chemical structure, and have their own health benefits on human body. However, they are grouped together as vitamin B complex because they occur together in foods that are rich in cellular material with an active metabolism (e.g. yeast, liver).

Vitamin B plays an important role in various metabolic activities in the body; it improves your immune system, helps your nervous system, tones your skin, and increases your red blood cell count.

Lack of vitamin B can create lot of problems in our body such as neuropathy, heart problem, beri beri, pellagra, anemia, stomatitis, acne, depression etc. When there is vitamin B deficiency in our body, supplemental vitamin B complex can fill the gap. Vitamin B complex medicine is available in several forms; it can be in liquid, tabs and capsules. These B vitamins are synthetic preparations but have the same benefits of B vitamins that are available in natural form.

The side effects of naturally occurring B vitamins in plants and animals is not known, however side effects have been observed with intake of supplemental synthetic vitamin B complex.

Side Effects of Consuming Synthetic B Complex Vitamins

Vitamin B1 Side Effect: palpitation, sleep disturbances, excitement and emotional disturbance, raised blood pressure, rapid pulse, increased irritability both at physical and mental level. Injection containing vitamin B 1 is known to cause anaphylaxis reaction in some patients.

Vitamin B2 Side Effect: fatigue, nausea, bad taste in mouth that may lead to vomiting, dizziness, skin erruptions.

Vitamin B3 side Effect: pulsating headache, flushing of face, vomiting, red rash with itching.

Vitamin B5 Side Effects: swelling in ankle joint, pain in knees and other joints, depression, tiredness.

Vitamin B6 Side Effects: high dose of this vitamin can cause sensory neuropathy, meaning tingling in limbs and fingers, mood alterations, mental disturbance.

Folic Acid B9 Side Effects: gastric upset that includes nausea, vomiting, bloating, sleep disturbance, breathing difficulty.

Vitamin B12 Side Effects: although rare, it can be observed in the form of tingling numbness, fear and anxiety.

Benefits of Vitamin B Complex

Vitamin B complex has an active role in metabolism of carbohydrate; it converts the carbohydrates into glucose and glucose is needed as a fuel for energy requirement. For this reason, a person having vitamin B complex deficiency experiences malaise, weakness, less of energy. Other benefits of vitamin B complex are as follows:

• Maintains and improves functioning of nervous system.
• Helps to digest food and metabolize proteins, carbohydrate from the food.
• Intake of vitamin B complex during pregnancy helps to prevent birth defects in the fetus.
•  It improves the heart action and tone of the muscles.
• Use of vitamin B complex for reducing stress is well known.
• Certain skin conditions such as acne and dryness of skin, fungal infection of the skin can be improved with vitamin B complex intake in adequate amount.
• Fatigue, lack of energy, tingling numbness in hands and foot, apthous stomatitis, burning feet syndrome etc occur due to lack of vitamin B complex deficiency, regular intake of these supplement help to relieve this complaints.
• In elderly individuals, it helps to improve memory and concentration.