Of course, each individual B vitamin has its own role to play in the complex symphony that keeps your body humming along—and each is critical, explains mbg director of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN.* “Their roles include cellular metabolism and energy production, plus the normal synthesis of red blood cells, DNA, and neurotransmitters, to name a few,”* she explains. Pretty important stuff, no?
And while insufficiency or deficiency in one (or more) of the B vitamins is less common than other nutrients (like vitamin D, which nearly one-third of Americans1 are straight-up deficient in, for example), that doesn’t mean we should brush them off.
Nutrient gaps absolutely exist for the B’s. For example, about 10% of people do fall short on vitamin B62, which helps synthesize neurotransmitters in the brain3, allows for the production of antibodies and cytokines in the immune system44, and supports nervous system function5, among other things.* That doesn’t really sound like a nutrient you want to miss out on…
And as Ferira points out, “If you are following a plant-centric, vegetarian, or vegan dietary pattern, that’s awesome, but vitamin B12 must be top of mind since its top sources from the diet are all animal-based.” And as it turns out, vitamin B12 is a multitasker when it comes to critical daily functions; you see, “B12 is required daily for the production of DNA, key amino acids, red blood cells, and cellular energy (ATP) from the food we eat, as well as immune cell function, neurological and cardiovascular health,”* explains Ferira.
Considering how popular B complex supplements are, it’s safe to say health-conscious people understand just how important it is to get enough of these different vitamins—which raises the question: Why do so many multivitamins let them fall by the wayside?
“If there was ever an opportunity to fold one supplement into another (and save the customer some time and money), it would be to deliver a B complex with all eight essential B vitamins within a multivitamin,” Ferira says. Thing is, “few multivitamins intentionally build in a complete B complex with premium bioactive and methylated formats of those nutrients.”