The human body wants nothing but balance. Give it too much of something and it will spiral out of control, or give it too little and it will slowly wither away in weakness. The body needs certain nutrients in the right amounts at certain times of the day. But how often do we give our body what it truly deserves? Instead, we abuse our bodies whenever we can doing the opposite. As a result, we lose muscle mass too soon without realizing it or become fat in the blink of an eye. If you’re one of those people looking for some easy ways to either lose or gain weight taking only vitamins, think again. You may have heard that you can consume vitamins to help gain weight, but we are here to bust that myth.
Take Vitamins to Help Gain Weight? Think Again
For some people, gaining weight is just as tedious as what losing weight is for others. This could be the sign of an underlying medical condition, or lifestyle changes, or even genetics. Your weight will not stay constant forever, you know this. Yet, even after overindulging in food calories, your weight doesn’t go up. As you know, your body needs vitamins in small amounts, so giving it too much is actually of no use. Your body will kick the excess vitamins out of the system. Also, vitamins do not contain calories. So, sadly, by consuming more vitamins you’ll never gain any weight.
You should consult a nutritionist and even your doctor to reduce your underweight health risks rather than taking matters into your own hands. You should take into consideration that dietary supplements do not suit everyone and may not be beneficial to some people. So, despite your regular consumption of these supplements, your body may not utilize them properly. This is exactly why you should focus more on your diet and on a healthy lifestyle, including exercising. Good nutrients and vitamins come from healthy foods, so only depending on supplements for weight gain is not the best course of action.
To gain weight, it’s not always necessary that you have to eat foods containing a lot of unhealthy fat. You should actually eat unprocessed foods as much as possible. This includes whole grains, fresh vegetables, and fruits that contain lots of starch, hence giving you lots of calories. Sometimes, a particular vitamin deficiency could lead to weight gain, for example, a lack of vitamin D could stimulate the hormones that are responsible for increasing hunger, making you eat more. But it’s best not to cause any vitamin deficiency that would lead to unhealthy weight gain. This doesn’t happen to everyone, so don’t assume that reducing or increasing vitamin consumption would bring about any positive change in your unhealthy weight.
Eat responsibly as well. Take all nutrients in the right amounts and don’t consume too much vitamin supplements to help you gain weight because that won’t work. Also, take advice from your doctor regarding changes in your diet.
The Vitamin B12 Myth About Weight Loss
I’ve heard many people talk about how vitamin B12 has helped them lose weight. However, there is no scientific evidence that could prove the association between vitamin B12 and weight loss.
A possible explanation for certain instances of weight loss could be the fact that a deficiency in vitamin B12 leads to a decrease in appetite, causing you to eat less. This means you’ll consume fewer calories. This kind of weight loss is not good for the body because, in the process, your body is stripped off from a very important vitamin. Vegetarians, people with Crohn’s disease and pernicious anemia are at increased risk of vitamin B12 deficiency.
To help alleviate vitamin B12 deficiency, you have to eat foods such as eggs, shrimps, dairy, fatty fish, lean meat, yogurt, granola, and honey. These are not only abundant in vitamin B12 but also high in calories, which will help you gain weight. So although vitamin B12 is not for weight loss purposes, it could help in gaining weight indirectly. This is good news for underweight vegetarians and those who are thin-shamed.
Again, bear in mind that vitamins are not directly responsible for weight gain, but in some conditions and cases, lack or excess of vitamins could lead to unhealthy weight gain.
Vitamins for Weight Loss?
Many supplements claim that certain vitamins for weight loss and metabolism do exist, but there is little scientific evidence to support such claims. Again, some people might be tempted to try vitamin B12 supplements hoping to lose weight, along with unhealthy diet plans; but sadly these approaches will be fruitless. Vitamin B12 is simply a cofactor for many metabolic processes, but that doesn’t mean it could boost metabolism and promote weight loss, according to Mayo Clinic. Vitamin B12 is needed for the healthy development of red blood cells and nerves, and for DNA synthesis as well; thus it has little to do with weight loss. If you’re thinking that there are other vitamins for energy and weight loss rather than vitamin B12, sadly, there isn’t.
So the best way to lose weight is to eat healthy foods and exercise 3-4 days a week. It’s as simple as that. There could be other underlying medical conditions. For example, those with thyroid hormone issues could have trouble with their metabolism and losing weight. Identify these problems with the help of your doctor and come with an effective weight loss plan. This way, you will lose weight only as required and not in an unhealthy, dangerous way. I’ve seen many people consume vitamin supplements as if they’re no big deal but causing severe harm to their bodies. Vitamin supplements may have caused their weight gain or loss but at the cost of their own health.
The Verdict
Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin, and it’s needed for a wide variety of cellular functions, such as amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism, and DNA synthesis. More importantly, it’s needed for the formation of myelin in nerve cells and red blood cell development. It’s the largest B vitamin, but also the most complex of all since it contains a mineral called cobalt. Our gut bacteria are able to produce vitamin B12, but often we need it from external food sources, such as dairy products and eggs. Despite its vast uses, it has no direct causal relationship with weight loss or weight gain. There’s not much scientific evidence yet which proves that these type of micronutrients could cause any significant changes in one’s body weight. There may have been a few instances where B vitamins helped gain some weight, but the underlying causes are not known yet.
Due to certain misconceptions, many have assumed that vitamin B12 supplements and other little-required nutrients may help in either reducing or gaining weight if consumed in large amounts. By doing so, they have endangered their own lives and have been through severe consequences. Some may have gotten lucky, but this isn’t the way you should treat your body. Your body is precious to you and deserves the utmost care. Instead of gambling with your health, how about being a bit more careful? Start off by eating all the nutrients in the right amounts, sleep properly and exercise regularly. Try to live positively and avoid stress. Avoid anything that gets in the way of your physiological well-being and see how your body transforms beautifully. Keep that motivation going!
