vitamin b for anxiety Using a good vitamin B complex for anxiety can actually work better than many think. Take a look at the video below to learn more.

For one of the better vitamin B supplements, like I talk about in the video, you can check out this brand on Amazon, which my friend use for her anxiety and panic attacks. That brand has been around for many years and is well know for its excellent quality. I highly recommend it.

Does Vitamin B Help With Anxiety ?…It’s a Tool!

If you are interested in knowing what kind of B complex my friend and I use (as I talk about in the video) then you can click here to find it on Amazon, but be sure to read the article as well…

…to start with let me be clear that if you suffer from extreme levels of anxiety and are having issues that is severely debilitating it is important that you seek professional help. That said I also recommend that you gather as many anxiety tools and “tricks” that you can, until you have a whole “arsenal” of anxiety weapons handy…

…for me, one of the tools, is using a good quality vitamin B complex for my anxiety.

Exactly How Does Vitamin B Help With Anxiety?

There are 8 vitamin B’s and in dietary supplements containing all of them are called a “vitamin B complex”. The B vitamins are, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12

When it comes to the central nervous system (which is highly involved in anxiety issues) vitamin B12 has an important function. It is responsible for maintaining the health and correct functioning of the nerve cells. Vitamin B 12 is also involved in neurotransmitter signaling and with low levels of vitamin B 12 our cognitive function is impaired. This will often manifest itself in anxiety and depression.

Experts estimate that up to 39% of people in the U.S are low in this important vitamin. Vitamin B12 deficiency is linked to:

Having a hard time focusing
Anxiety
Depression
Chronic tiredness
Heart palpitations
Memory problems

One of the most studied functions of vitamin B12 is how it is involved in regulating our central nervous system. By doing so it had the ability to lower symptoms of depression, anxiety and other mood issues. This vitamin, along with vitamin B9 is involved in “one- carbon Metabolism” that creates a substance called SAM (S adenosyl methionine) which is crucial for brain functions, dealing with anxiety, stress and mood…

…to make it short and simple:

If we want our nervous system and brain to function properly, getting enough vitamin B12 is crucial. Being deficient in B12, makes our brain and nervous system unbalanced and that is almost like sending a personal invite to Mr Anxiety to come play with you.

Foods For Vitamin B12

I recommend supplementing with a good vitamin B complex, however, it is of course also a good idea to eat a diet with foods that are rich in vitamin B…

…especially in vitamin B12

Some of the best food sources for vitamin B12:

Liver
Sardines
Red meat
Salmon
Milk
Cheese
Yogurt

Research On Taking a Vitamin B Complex for Anxiety and Mood Issues

A double-blind, randomized and placebo controlled, three month study of 60 people, showed that the participants who were on a vitamin B complex regimen experienced a lowering in stress levels, anxiety at work as well as reduced symptoms of depression. This particular study was aimed at workplace stress but there are also other studies that shows the same anxiety reduction in “non-work” situations.

Vitamin B6 also plays a role in anxiety

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) plays an important role in the regulation of mood and anxiety levels because it is highly involved in the mechanism behind the production ot the neurotransmitter serotonin. As you probably already know many anxiety and antidepressant medications targets the serotonin system. This is because elevated levels of serotonin makes us more calm and raises our self esteem…

…it may sound funny that a neurotransmitter (serotonin) can be one of the factors behind having a healthy or poor self esteem but the fact is, it does. Those prescription drugs are also known as SSRI’s. (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors).

Having healthy levels of serotonin makes it much easier for us to not take things personally and high levels of serotonin will also prevent our thoughts from getting stuck in the “on position”,racing around…

…like they so often do when we are having anxiety or are under a lot of stress.

Vitamin B6 can be found in, for example:

dark leafy vegetables
asparagus
fish
roots
milk
beans

Can’t I Just Buy a Good Vitamin B12 Supplement Then? Why Buy a Complex?

Sure you can and it might even work very well but here’s the deal…

…even though the B1,B2,B3,B5,B7 and B9’s do not have as strong role in the anxiety reducing mechanism as B12 and B6 they are indeed important for getting the optimal anxiety reducing effects.

This is because they work synergistically (meaning they work together, enhancing each others effect) so without them the B6 and B12 would not be able to reduce anxiety as well as they do. That’s why I strongly recommend taking a full B complex supplement instead of buying only B12 and B6…

..in addition to this the whole vitamin B family are, of course, also involved in hundreds of processes in our bodies that have nothing to do with stress, anxiety and depression but are otherwise crucial to our health.

OK, So It Looks Like Vitamin B Does Work With Anxiety But Will it Work For ME?

No one can say for sure. It depends on many factors. For example people who are deficient in vitamin B and who starts supplementing will probably be the ones who notices strongest effects. This is of course natural and to be expected but even people who eat a healthy diet and do not have a B12 deficiency, for example, have also reported reduced anxiety levels. In addition to this we are all different and respond differently to everything so the only way to know for sure is to try it.

Personally I feel the effects but it’s by no means a miracle cure . It is, however, another tool for anxiety and my philosophy is to collect and try out as many tool and tricks I can…

…as long as they are risk free, that is.

Can I overdose on Vitamin B?
Warning! must read:

The B family are soluble in water and that means that high amounts will not build up in our bodies but we will simply get rid of them when we go to the bathroom. That said large doses of certain B vitamins (like for example Vitamin B6) can cause problems. This is why you should ALWAYS follow the directions on the vitamin B supplement you order. If you do so then there are no risks at all.

If you where to take too much you would probably get some of the following symptoms:

Diarrhea (too much of B5)
Neurotoxicity (at extreme high doses of B6)
Skin flushing (too high dose of B3, not dangerous however)

Vitamin B Helped My Friend Get Rid of Her Anxiety Attacks

Just like me, my friend also suffers from anxiety and depression. I have not asked for permission to use her name so let’s just call her “Anna”. Well, Anna is a 31 year old woman who has been struggling with mood issues and severe anxiety attacks since she was 25, starting when her husband left her.

Even though she works out and loves jogging she is not always that great with eating a healthy diet. So when her problems started I insisted that she would try to eat better diet and in particular implementing foods that contains vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. I also gave her my bottle of the B vitamin complex supplement…

“Does vitamin B help with anxiety?” she asked, and I responded that of course I don’t know if it will help her but it’s worth a shot. She agreed to try it out and after one week she started experience less intense anxiety attacks. After two more weeks they were gone. Completely. She could not believe it and the relief she felt was, in her words, “heavenly”.

Supplementing with vitamin B for anxiety did indeed work amazingly well for my friend. My guess is that Anna was probably deficient in it and that’s why she experienced such dramatic improvements. Again, we are all different and what works for one might not work for another so…

… the only way to know for sure, is to try it.

Bottom Line:

Trying out vitamin B for anxiety is not a bad idea at all especially considering the fact that a deficiency is almost a guarantee for some kind of stress related issues. It is kind of like magnesium, while it may not completely cure us from anxiety, having levels that are too low makes it impossible to overcome our anxiety, stress or panic attacks.

So when considering that along with the fact that a good vitamin B complex, it in and of itself, has the potential to reduce stress and anxiety levels (as we learned from the study)…

…well, I for one will always have a good vitamin B complex in my kitchen drawer.

If you are interested in knowing what kind of B complex my friend and I use then you can
click here to find it on Amazon.

Thank you for reading the post “Does vitamin B help with anxiety?”

-Bob Castle-