If you’ve been feeling tired and mental unfocused lately, you may just need to give your metabolism a boost with some extra vitamin B12. Difficulty losing weight, brain fog, and extreme fatigue are all signs of a sluggish metabolism that can be helped by replenishing your body’s healthy stores of vitamin B12.
Why B12?
Vitamin B12 is one of the most essential nutrients for allover health; it helps to boost energy, promote cellular activity, protect the nervous system, and delay many of the effects of aging.
For metabolism, vitamin B12 helps by enhancing cell growth, enabling your body to build DNA more efficiently, in addition to sustaining red blood cell production needed for oxygen.
Hypothyroidism and vitamin B12
If you suffer from slow metabolism due to hypothyroidism, then you may be more prone to vitamin B12 deficiency than people without thyroid disorders.
And the symptoms of hypothyroidism- chronic fatigue, brain fog, and slow metabolism- actually mimic typical signs of vitamin B12 deficiency, making it all that much harder to diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency in people with underactive thyroids.
Read more about vitamin B12 deficiency and hypothyroidism.
How much vitamin B12 do I need?
The standard dose is 1,000mcg of vitamin B12, to be taken as advised by your physician, or as needed.
Vitamin B12 is safe to take in any amount, and many studies confirm the healthy benefits of taking mega-doses for energy, good mood, and fit thinking skills.
If your vitamin B12 levels are very low, then you may need to take weekly supplements for a while, and then continue with monthly doses of vitamin B12.
Read more about vitamin B12 dosage.
Boost your metabolism with these tips.
In addition to taking vitamin B12 for energy and maintaining a healthy weight, you should also follow these simple guidelines for metabolic integrity:
- Eat a healthy balanced breakfast every day, in order to prevent going into metabolic starvation mode.
- Eat small regular meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism running smoothly.
- Exercise every day for at least thirty minutes, and you’ll be rewarded with hours of increased energy for the rest of that day.
- Drink cold water throughout the day, not just to prevent fatigue from dehydration, but also because ice water increases energy and promotes a healthy metabolic rate.
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