B Vitamins: Importance, Benefits & Why You Need Them

These all important vitamins are the key to giving you the best for health and performance.

Maybe you’ve heard of B vitamins. You’ve definitely heard of a multivitamin. And hopefully you have one in your routine as this supplement is an easy and convenient way to see those desired gains you want most. By keeping you healthier overall and aiding in optimal wellness, you give yourself a greater chance at seeing serious success, especially for the fact that you can grind as hard as you’d like without the fear of illness or injury.

B vitamins are included in multivitamins and while some people supplement with them individually, taking a well-designed and properly formulated multivitamin can do the trick. B vitamins hold a special importance for our bodies as they are responsible for many important bodily functions. Without them, we would suffer. So making sure these stay at the top of your list is of the utmost important and can greatly benefit your gains inside and out of the gym.

Let’s take a look at B vitamins so we know exactly what we’re working with. Knowing the importance of them, what each individual one does, and how these can benefit your health and performance will keep them at the forefront of your routine so you never suffer a deficiency again.

Importance Of B Vitamins

B vitamins are important for they play a role in a host of bodily functions. Most notably, these vitamins are important for forming every cell in your body, particularly those nerve cells. We’ll get into more specifics of what each B vitamin does later on, but in terms of a nutrient that has the ability to impact not only your overall health and wellness, but also your training and performance, B vitamins are most certainly those to pay attention to. And make sure you get plenty of.

Types & Benefits Of B Vitamins

When it comes to B vitamins, there are 8 to know.  Each does its own respective job by working to provide for certain benefits to better your overall health and performance. Together, each of these vitamins help enzymes do a host of jobs like releasing energy from carbohydrates, transporting oxygen and energy, among plenty of others (1). Let’s take a look at each of these B vitamins and note what their respective role and benefits are for your body.

• B1 (Thiamin)

Vitamin B1 is often seen as the “anti-stress” vitamin for its role in helping our immune systems out when things get tough. It will also help form adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is a major source for cellular reactions (2).

• B2 (Riboflavin)

A powerful antioxidant, B2 helps fight off free radicals and can facilitate cell growth and red blood cell production. It will also work with B6 and B9 to turn them into more usable and readily available forms (3).

• B3 (Niacin)

B3 plays a serious role in converting carbs, fats, and alcohol into energy. But other notable benefits are its ability to produce various sex and stress-related hormones and boost circulation (4).

• B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

Another great vitamin to help with red blood cell production (5), B5 works to also maintain a healthy digestive tract and synthesize cholesterol. This is found in almost all whole foods so getting this into your body shouldn’t be terribly difficult.

• B6 (Pyridoxine)

B6 is vital for producing neurotransmitters and maintaining brain development and function. As it relates to other B vitamins, it will aid in the absorption of B12 (which we’ll get to shortly) (6).

• B7 (Biotin)

B7 has many important roles in our bodies like producing fatty acids, regulating our blood sugar levels, and playing a crucial role in cell growth (7). Our intestinal bacteria produce this in excess of what our daily requirements actually are.

• B9 (Folate, Folic Acid)

One of the best known and studied, B9 helps synthesize and repair DNA, form red blood cells (8), and facilitate cell growth.

• B12 (Cobalamin)

B12 helps maintain healthy nerve cells because it produces the myelin that surrounds them (9). Certain diets that avoid animal products should consider supplementing with this as deficiencies are more common in vegans or those on plant-based diets.

Best Way To Get B Vitamins

When it comes to supplementation, you can most certainly supplement with each B vitamin independently if that is your choice. But multivitamins are a convenient way to get all B vitamins on top of all the other vital nutrients you need in one pill. The right multivitamin will eliminate any deficiencies and help keep you as healthy as possible overall. Kaged Muscle has an awesome multivitamin packed with B vitamins to make your life as easy as possible.

Kaged Muscle Multivitamin

Kaged Muscle Multivitamin is perfect for those looking for a once daily, high absorption, and whole food multi with 21 essential vitamins and minerals. A 100% plant-based and vegan friendly option, this multi is made with organic fruits and veggies and contains prebiotics in a once per day formula. With high absorption and utilization, all of these nutrients hit you fast for the best results. A clean and fully disclosed formula makes this a great multi option for all your health and wellness needs.

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Check out our list of the Best Multivitamins for more great nutrient-packed products!

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Wrap Up

At the end of the day, we need B vitamins. To neglect these important nutrients is only hurting yourself which we absolutely can’t afford to do. Whether you are a bodybuilder, strongman, powerlifter, or just an everyday fitness fan, staying as healthy as possible is the one thing we can control. Supplementing with either a multivitamin or with B vitamins independently is an easy way to ensure we get all these vital nutrients and keeping these a priority in our daily routine will keep us performing ultimately at the highest level.

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References

1. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “B Vitamins”. (source)
2. Butterworth, R. (2007). “Thiamin deficiency and brain disorders”. (source)
3. Suwannasom, N.; et al. (2020). “Riboflavin: The Health Benefits of a Forgotten Natural Vitamin”. (source)
4. Metelitsina, T.; et al. (2004). “Effect of niacin on the choroidal circulation of patients with age related macular degeneration”. (source)
5. Annous, K.; et al. (1995). “Pantothenic Acid Uptake and Metabolism by Red Blood Cells of Rats”. (source)
6. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “Vitamin B6”. (source)
7. University of Nebraska. “The Essential Role of Biotin in Cell Proliferation”. (source)
8. Lamers, Y.; et al. (2006). “Red blood cell folate concentrations increase more after supplementation with [6S]-5-methyltetrahydrofolate than with folic acid in women of childbearing age”. (source)
9. Baltrusch, S. (2021). “The Role of Neurotropic B Vitamins in Nerve Regeneration”. (source)