Taking Vitamin B May Be Ineffective for 2 Kinds of People: Here’s How to Fix It

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Vitamin B complex is commonly used as a supplement to boost energy. However, some people feel sleepy after taking these vitamins, and that could be a warning sign.

Watch Out for 2 Warning Signs

People often work long hours under a lot of mental stress, which causes the body to consume a large amount of vitamin B complex. Therefore, many take health supplements to help their body convert nutrients into energy, increase vitality, and relieve stress.

However, some feel lethargic and lack physical strength after taking the supplements. There are two possible reasons why your body reacts this way.

• The body is too tired

According to Han-Yi Ho, functional medicine dietician at Redox Clinic in Taiwan, although B vitamins can rejuvenate the body, the body’s reaction to the supplement is the result of its condition.

If you become sleepy after taking vitamin B supplements, it may be because your body is already in a state of stress and needs to relax. At the same time, the body is unable to relax due to insufficient B vitamins.

Many people worry that taking B vitamins before going to bed will prevent them from falling asleep. Under normal circumstances, B vitamins should not make one too excited or too sleepy. It’s just that people lead a busy life, so they don’t have the energy during the day; yet they cannot calm down before bedtime, either.

• Chronic illnesses

Another reason for vitamin B supplements’ ineffectiveness could be due to chronic illnesses or the use of certain medications.

Dr. Peng-Tzu Liu, attending physician at the Department of Family Medicine, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taiwan, said that people with diabetes, thyroid issues, as well as heart and lung diseases often feel tired. In these cases, taking vitamin B supplements won’t help increase the patients’ energy.

These are some diseases that cause people to feel tired:

Chronic liver diseases: Fatigue is the most common symptom in patients with chronic liver diseases. The abnormal metabolism and inflammation caused by liver diseases can lead to exhaustion.

Chronic kidney diseases: Patients experience fatigue due to anemia and the inability to excrete metabolic waste.

Diabetes: People with diabetes suffer from low energy or tiredness because their body cannot use glucose to produce energy.

Chronic heart failure: As their heart function gradually deteriorates, patients experience shortness of breath and excessive tiredness.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: This is a chronic inflammatory lung disease that causes obstructed airflow from the lungs. Patients feel tired easily due to prolonged lack of oxygen.

Thyroid dysfunction: The thyroid gland is an endocrine organ that plays a role in the body’s metabolism. Chronic fatigue is present in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

Depression and anxiety: Patients may have trouble falling asleep or sleeping through the night, which can lead to exhaustion. Therefore, they often feel tired after the onset of the illness.

Medications, such as certain chemotherapy drugs, can also cause fatigue.

According to Ho, pharmaceutical manufacturers mass produce vitamins that can be well preserved and transported, therefore they tend to make the less expensive, inactive forms of B vitamins.

The inactive forms must be converted by the liver to become active, and then be utilized by the body. People with abnormal liver and kidney functions can’t properly process these inactive forms of the B vitamins, which in turn add more burden to the body and cause tiredness.

Observe for 1 Week

Many patients often visit their family physician due to fatigue. As per Dr. Liu, patients usually take B vitamins or other supplements when they feel tired. Then they’ll consult with the physician if there is no improvement.

If you feel exhausted, first find out if there are any possible causes, such as working too much, or not sleeping well. If you feel better after adjusting your schedule and taking vitamin B supplements, then keep observing. However, if you still feel tired after modifying your schedule and diet, including taking supplements, then consult with a physician.

Besides feeling fatigue, there could be other undetected symptoms, such as weight loss or heart palpitations, signs that people don’t associate with fatigue. Nevertheless, the undetected symptoms could be caused by diabetes, thyroid issues, or even cancer.

Dr. Liu emphasized that when vitamin B complex and supplements do not improve tiredness in two to three weeks, it is best to see a doctor in no later than six weeks.

Choose the Vitamin B Complex That Suits You Best

If you don’t notice any changes, feel sleepy, or can’t find any other causes after taking vitamin B supplements, it means that your body has been in a wired state for a period of time. It would be a good idea to rest and relax for a few days.

You should also choose the vitamin B complex that best suits you. According to Ho, patients with severe chronic fatigue need B vitamins that can relax their body and brain so that they can sleep in the evening and recover their physical strength.

She suggested choosing the active form of vitamin B complex which can be best utilized by the body, because it is quickly absorbed and is more effective.

For example, pyridoxine is the most common of all vitamin B6 compounds. The liver must first convert it into the active form, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate, then transport it into the bloodstream to be used by the cells. Therefore, the active form is quickly absorbed by the body and works faster.

The most common active forms of B vitamins are as follows:

Vitamin B1: thiamine pyrophosphate Vitamin B2: riboflavin-5-phosphate Vitamin B3: niacin or its derivative niacinamide Vitamin B5: D-pantothenate Vitamin B6: pyridoxal 5′-phosphate Vitamin B12: methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosylcobalamin

Ho pointed out that the purpose of vitamin supplements is to provide what the body is lacking. If no testing is done to find out what the body needs, you can just take vitamin B6 or γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA).

Gamma-aminobutyric acid is an amino acid, a neurotransmitter. GABA supplements help reduce stress and anxiety.

The glutamic acid in the neurotransmitter can make people excited, but GABA can calm the brain by controlling nerve cell hyperactivity. GABA is a metabolite of glutamic acid, and vitamin B6 is the cofactor of the metabolic process.

Even a slight deficiency in vitamin B6 can slow down GABA synthesis. Ho explained that people nowadays are surrounded by constant external stimuli, thus the high concentration of glutamic acid causes too much excitement; and if there is not enough vitamin B6 to metabolize glutamic acid into GABA, it is difficult for the body to enter a relaxation state.

In addition, vitamin B6 can help the metabolism and synthesis of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, which are considered feel-good hormones.

You can take vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid), and vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) during the day to assist cells to use the nutrients to produce energy.

The vitamin B complex is involved in all aspects of energy production within the cell, especially the active forms of vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B5. They are the essential coenzymes in maintaining mitochondrial function and cell function.