B12 injections are widely used for weight loss across the world with people not even bothering about their side effects or effectiveness. This article helps you decide if B12 really helps you lose weight or not.
These days, many B12 injections are a part of proprietary and commercial weight loss programs which believe that B12 is effective in shedding extra pounds. But it is a half truth. According to health experts, B12 may help you lose weight but there are no scientific proofs for this. Still, some fitness experts do prescribe B12 to their clients that helps them in the process of weight loss. Let’s first see what is B12 and what are its functions.
A Little about Vitamin B12
B12, also known as cobalamin, is one of the water soluble vitamins naturally found in some foods, such as dairy products, poultry products, meats, fish, etc. With the advances in science, today B12 can also be made in the laboratory and hence is available as a supplement in the form pills and injections. B12 is essentially a B complex vitamin which plays various important roles in human body. Their primary function is to help the body in converting carbohydrates to sugars and burn the sugars to provide the body with essential energy required to perform body functions and other day-to-day tasks. B12 is also known to breakdown the fats and proteins in the body by increasing the metabolic rate. It also boosts the nervous system and immune system by accelerating the growth of red blood corpuscles, which are essential to maintain overall health and fitness.
As B12 is naturally variable in various food products, doctors do not generally suggest B12 injections to otherwise healthy people. In medical practice, B12 injections are suggested only to patients who suffer from pernicious anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency, and other vitamin absorption related disorders. Sometimes, people who follow strict vegetarian diet are also prescribed B12 injections if their diet cannot meet the required B12 amount.
How Does B12 Help Lose Weight?
Well, after going through the functions, you might have got some idea about how B12 injections for weight loss must be working. The logic behind using B12 injections for weight loss by many weight loss programs is quite simple. As mentioned, B12 increases the metabolic rate of the body providing a person with instant energy which also helps in reliving fatigue, stress, and depression. So, a person induced with B12 injection feels enthusiastic to follow longer and strenuous exercise regimens. The increased metabolism, stress free mind frame, and good food habits all together results in faster weight loss. It is not that B12 shots would help you lose weight while you binge eat without moving your body. Some experts also say that, unless one suffers from the B12 deficiency, the drug is ineffective and rarely brings any changes in the body.
So to sum up, B12 may assist you in the process of weight loss but it does not work on its own. Extremely obese people, who just cannot exercise, can take B12 shots in the initial phase of losing weight, but they too need to stop it once they achieve the desired weight loss. There are very few side effects associated with the B12 injections, such as muscle cramps and pain. B12 drug is injected in the muscles using a syringe which may cause pain and muscle spasm at times. Overdose of B12 is not reported to have any side effects but many health experts criticize its use by weight loss programs and believe that they should promote a healthy lifestyle as a means to weight loss. So, now the ball is in your court and you have to decide if you want to depend on some quick drug or want to follow a long term healthy lifestyle.
Many health experts advise not to depend on quick and easy drugs to lose weight as they are not effective in the long run. Instead natural weight loss achieved by combining a healthy diet and active lifestyle is good for the body and helps one remain fit and strong forever.