Why B-Complex if you already take a multi?

BlkMane

New Member
From what I see on my multi-vitamin bottle, it does contain all of the B vitamins, so why should I also take a B-complex pill?
 
I take b-complex (50 mg) because I keep getting chapped lips no matter what I do/use. I read that this is due to a b-5 (pantothenic acid) and b-2 (riboflavin) deficiency and 50 mg was the recommended dosage. So, although I take a multivitamin that contains the b vitamins, it must not be enough. I spoke to my allergy doc about it and he said that it was due to eating acidic foods (strawberries, OJ, etc), but eliminating those didn't work. It's not my toothpaste either, so I'm trying the B-50. So far, they're getting better, but not 100% yet.
 
I think..but don't quote me on this, when you're taking extra b vitamins such as biotin, they need the other b-complex "family" to work efficiently. So I think the amount of b-complex in multi-vitamins is just enough to cover the RDA amount or give extra energy, but not enough for hair care and growth. That was my understanding, but I might be a little off. /images/graemlins/dork.gif
 
I was just getting ready to say something like that. I remember someone linked to a site once explaining how your B-vitamin intake needed to be "balanced" in order for you to get the most effectiveness out of it. I know the link is somewhere in the older threads. If I recall it even had percentage breakdowns or something like that. So I started taking Natrols B-50 in addition to my regular hair vitamin and biotin supplements because of reading that.
 
Blkmane,

First, it depends on your multivitamin and whether, for your needs, there is enough B-Complex for you. With me, my multivitamin contains 25mg of all the B-Complex, including the co-factors. That's at the 3 tabs daily recommendation. I only take 2 tablets daily. With the B-Complex supplement which I take, I take 50mg am and 50mg pm. For my hair and the amount of stress I have in my life, that's cool for me.

Generally, with B-complex, you want to take it if you are taking any single B vitamins or co-factors. Otherwise, you can throw off your inner balance. With singles, you can generally take 2-3x the amount in the B-complex without throwing off your ratio internally. With that said, it is usually very had for most people to "get out of whack" here. Timing of dosages, length of time taken and your own body chemistry play major roles here.

From having taken nutrients for many years, I can also add this note. It is never the same taking a multivitamin for a specific issue which contains a particular nutrient which you want versus taking the nutrient by itself. The results are just not the same. In other words, if I wanted to take a B-complex for my hair, I personally would never rely on a multivitamin alone containing B-complex to take care of it.

Hope this helps.

~Jade~
 
Thank you very much, Ms. Jade21...I will now add B-complex to my next Puritan Pride order.
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