Many people with or without type 2 diabetes, have misconceptions about nutritional supplements. You may think you eat a balanced diet but in truth not too many people even come close to eating a healthy diet. Our lifestyle these days leaves little desire to prepare meals at home, eating out is no longer a luxury, it is something many do each and every day. Guess what, many restaurant meals are obtained from fast food outlets and processed foods are used... these would be lacking in important nutrients.
Another belief is that supplements do nothing beyond making expensive urine. It is true the B and C vitamins are water-soluble vitamins which means they are not meant to be stored by your body... they need to be replaced every day. They are meant to saturate your metabolic system... in order to saturate your system, some of the dosage may show up in your urine. Even when the urinary excretion threshold has been reached, water-soluble vitamins continue to benefit your body. This also occurs with prescription medications.
B Vitamin Supplement
Vitamin B12 is one of these water-soluble vitamins... it helps:
carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism
iron function better in your body
maintain your central nervous system
with folate activity
with calcium absorption
increase your energy
with the formation and regeneration of red blood cells
How is vitamin B12 obtained:
through diet simply by eating chicken, salmon and tuna, eggs and milk if you are a vegetarian, it will be difficult for you to get enough vitamin B12 but it can be found in vegetarian burger patties that are fortified with B12
In a recent study of forty-six people with type 2 diabetes taking metformin or phenformin or both, 30 per cent of these volunteers were found to have malabsorption of vitamin B12. This means their body was not absorbing the vitamin properly. This deficiency continued even after their medications were stopped.
Deficiency symptoms of vitamin B12 include:
soreness and weakness in your arms and legs slow reflexes and sensory perception stammering difficulty walking, jerking of your limbs, nervousness nerve inflammation mood disorders mental slowness, memory loss unpleasant body odor
It's easy for your health care provider to monitor your vitamin B12 levels... this is done by a blood test. If your levels are low, vitamin B12 can be delivered by injection, sublingually (under your tongue), or there is a new patch that delivers this vitamin to your body. It is also included in many multivitamin supplements.
Besides being helpful for people with type 2 diabetes taking metformin, vitamin B12 has been found to aid in the reduction of the risk of cardiovascular disease and, in conjunction with vitamin B6, is important for the prevention of diabetic neuropathy... it is essential for healthy nerve function.