There are claims that Vitamin B12 can produce significant weight loss. Many doctors also claim that there is no proof that B12 can help lose weight - although apparently it has been proven that it can help people stop gaining weight! With so many conflicting stories in the media, it is difficult to know what to believe when it comes to finding something to help with your weight loss efforts.
As a starting point you need to understand that B12 is vital for our bodies to function normally and a deficiency of B12 can have a serious effect on your body. Leaving out such an important vitamin is like leaving a key ingredient out of a recipe - it just doesn't work right. Vitamin B12 along with other important nutrients helps your body to operate more efficiently and this in itself means that your overall health will improve and good health is an essential foundation for effective weight loss.
B12 can also give you a great energy boost and whilst this alone is not responsible for shedding the pounds, it can have an impact on your motivation to move more and exercise more regularly. In addition, B12 boosts your metabolism. This means that you digest your food faster and burn more calories just by sitting there. And the more calories you burn, the fewer calories you store as fat. Plus, if you increase your exercise level, you’ll boost your metabolism even more!
A great way to get more B12 is to increase the amount of foods containing this great vitamin in your diet. Some foods high in B12 include: clams, liver, trout, and salmon. Many foods such as breakfast cereal have been fortified with B12 and other vitamins and minerals so these can also help.
So what is our verdict? Whatever the arguments for and against B12 for weight loss, it is an essential nutrient that can give our bodies a great boost and not getting enough can be detrimental to our health. Taking B12 is not a magic formula for losing weight but as with anything else, if it makes you feel better and more energetic you are more likely to have the motivation to eat healthily and exercise more.