How to Select a B Complex Supplement

I mentioned last week that B Complex aids our bodies in dealing with stress. And what woman doesn't have stress! I'd like to take that post a step further, without being an information firehose :)
B Complex is also a critical component in nerve function and communication, hormonal balance, metabolism, learning and memory, the production of red blood cells and antibodies, and in regulating sleep mechanisms. This is a very brief list; I'm just scratching the surface here. This particular group of vitamins is pretty important for our functionality!

And, just by way of note, the absorption of B Vitamins is inhibited by antibiotics, caffeine and birth control pills.

So, let's say you decide your body might benefit from a B Complex supplement. How would you go about choosing one out of the many? Previously, I thought the more expensive a supplement is, the better it must be. I was wrong. In nature, B vitamins are always found in balance with one another. This doesn't mean exactly equal amounts of each of the individual B vitamins are present. Rather, the array of B vitamins is found in very similar proportions all throughout nature. The RDA is based on these amounts.

Here's where I'm going with this thought... let's say you read the label and see that there is 6,333% RDA of your Niacin and Riboflavin. Then, as you scan down, you see about 50% RDA of Folic Acid and about 10% RDA of Biotin. This is not a balanced supplement. Why is that bad? Well, your body can mimic B Vitamin deficiency as it struggles to absorb all the overload. You want a supplement that contains about 100% of each of the 8 vitamins in the B Complex.

You also want to read the label to check the amount of Biotin. Biotin is the most expensive of the B vitamins, yet it is very pivotal in the utilization of the rest. If you don't have enough Biotin, you can't really use the other Bs, no matter how many you give yourself. Unfortunately, many brands skimp on the Biotin so they can produce a more cost-effective supplement. Don't purchase a B Complex unless it contains 100% RDA of Biotin.

Why do I mention all of this? Well, as I've talked with women from all walks of life, I'm coming to the conclusion that the vast majority are experiencing several symptoms attributable to lack of adequate B Complex. Maybe our need for it has increased as our multi-tasking and stress levels have increased. Maybe the diminishing quality of our diet has left us deficient. Maybe prescription drugs have hindered our B Complex absorption. Maybe there is another reason that I haven't yet considered. I am not a medical professional and I don't go around diagnosing my friends... but, if another mom benefits even half as much as I did from the addition of the right B Complex Supplement, then this post was worth my time and yours.

This is the B Complex I take. Some days I can tell I need it more than others :) It meets all the criteria I've mentioned in this post, plus my standards for purity. And it's from a company that I approve of, as I mentioned here.

STRESS... and a health quiz

The Scream

This may never happen in your home. You may not have four children, but don't all women have at least four things competing for their attention at a time? I think our demanding lifestyle is universal.

Picture this with me: You are in the middle of cleaning up a large mess from breakfast and meal prep for the day. Four children are supposed to be brushing their teeth and getting started with school. One can't find her toothbrush. It might be in the book basket where she left it last night. Since she is just a baby she can't very sweetly ask for help. She hollars for anyone who will hear. The second brushes his teeth in five seconds flat and somehow has roped his sister on the way to get his math book. He hollars in excitement because of the prize he's caught. The third can't brush her teeth because she's been roped. She doesn't want anyone to keep her from obeying mommy. More hollaring. The fourth is so happy to be alive she bounces out of the bathroom and whaps her head on the door frame. More hollaring. So, we've got a desperate hollar, a cowboy triumph hollar, an I'm-Offended hollar and a truly-in-pain hollar. What does mom do?

If it was your house, what would you do? Can anyone really address all four hollars AT THE SAME MOMENT IN TIME??? Even if I don't know what your reaction would be, I can tell you what is happening inside your body. Stress is mounting. As your body elevates blood pressure, pulse rate and certain endocrine activities in preparation for what is to come, it also suppresses the peripheral body systems like your immune system and digestive system. This is an oversimplification; I don't think everyone wants to read all the specifics right now. Suffice it to say that your body is reved up.

Did you know that the reving up takes extra nutrients? Yep. Sure does. Especially B Complex. The B vitamins are water soluble and are consumed quickly when the body responds to stress. You can respond peaceably. You can respond in frustration. But your body is still reving up. And your body will totally consume a day's supply of B Complex in about fifteen minutes of extreme stress. Without B Complex, your body will have difficulty regaining it's normal function again. Thus, chronically stressed people can experience heart palpitations, fatigue similar to anemia, chronic infections and heart disease.

Remember, this is a former Walking-B-Vitamin-Deficiency speaking here. If you haven't yet, you can read my story here. I could write forever about the wonders of B Complex. And soon I will write about how to read labels and chose the best B Complex supplement. But, I can't let this one post become an e-book. So...

Let's take a Health Quiz!
Remember, this is not a medical diagnosis. This is simply a fun way to look at how a B Vitamin Deficiency presents itself. Once again, I am not a medical practitioner : )

Score yourself on each of these symptoms associated with B Vitamins. Give yourself a 0 if you never experience the symptom; a 1 if you experience it seldom; a 2 if you experience it regularly; and a 3 if you experience it often. Ready?

___I can never get enough sleep! Even when I sleep 8 hours, I am still fatigued.
___I crave sweets.
___I rely on caffeine.
___I experience headaches.
___I face a lot of daily stress.
___I experience PMS.
___Apart from my monthly cycle, I experience mood swings and am easily irritated.
___I have a rapid heartbeat and/or experience heart palpitations.
___I have ridges in my nails.
___I have skin problems and/or experience hair loss.

Like I said, B Complex deficiency can present itself in an abundance of different ways. I simply picked ten of the forty or so symptoms people have associated with Bs. These symptoms are commonly alleviated by the addition of a B Complex supplement.

Total up your score:
0-7 You're doing great! Give thanks!
8-15 You show some symptoms of B Vitamin Deficiency. Since this is a super-simplified quiz, you may want to do a bit more reading to see if you display other symptoms.
16-24 Hmmm. Sounds probable that you could benefit from extra B Complex.

25-30 Symptoms are signals that our bodies are experiencing distress. Definitely look further into this topic. Feel free to email me for sources that might be beneficial.

Photo Credit: Allposters.com

Cleaning Our Closets

We are cleaning out closets. Organizing. Getting rid of what we don't need anymore. Making things simple. This is what we love to do after Christmas, between rounds of holiday company, in celebration of the New Year. (Am I allowed to blog with conversational grammar?)

It feels so good to start the New Year with everything in order. It keeps my mind healthy. Less clutter = less stress. Less stress for mama = happy days for the kids.

I certainly don't expect you to jump on our bandwagon. I'm just sharing what we do around this time of year. If you do chose to bring in the New Year in like manner, I'll make a few suggestions.

1. Start with your easiest closet. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment sooner, and you'll be inspired to move through the next closet.
2. Don't bite off more than you can chew, which I always do. This could be disastrous. You'll have to call in reinforcements. Hopefully, they'll be on your bandwagon.
3. Think about the zone that causes you the most stress. Come up with an organizational strategy that will work for the long run. Keeping this hot spot in order all year will be enormously beneficial. It's worth coming up with an effective strategy.
4. Let the kid's help in organizing their things. If they help get it all in order, they will understand the order and be much more likely to return things to order.
5. Don't bite off more than you can chew. It's worth saying again. You don't want de-stressing your life to be stressful. Just focus on what would make the biggest difference.

I hope that you have a Happy New Year, full of hopeful thoughts for your next year.