Methyl B12 (B12, B6 and folate) 90 capsules

Now updated with folic acid replaced with folate. Vitamin B12 + B6 + Folate, is one of the most important nutritional anti aging and life extending combinations there is.

What B12 Does

Methyl B12 provides an infusion of B12 and the co-factors required for its optimal utilisation directly into the bloodstream. These vitamins nutritionally support healthy nervous system and cardiovascular function.

Why Methyl B12 Is Unique 

Firstly our one comes with its cofactors Vitamin B6, folate and biotin.  Secondly note, we use the cofactor folate, and not folic acid. Thirdly it is specially formulated with methylcobalamin Vitamin B12. Methylcobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 that is active in the central nervous system. The liver does not easily convert the cyanocobalamin form of vitamin B12 into adequate amounts of methylcobalamin - the active form. This pre-existing tendency can get worse as we age. The solution is to take vitamin B12 (in the methylcobalamin form) every day.

From the company owner: Why have we replaced folic acid with folate?

Folate is the natural form of Vitamin B9. Folic acid is the synthetic form. It's the one you will see in cheap supplements, where the manufacturer wants to save money. We begged, literally begged our previous manufacturer to replace the folic acid in the product they were making for us with folate, even if we had to pay more for it. They refused and in the end I was left with no choice but to get it manufactured elsewhere, as I am only interested in selling the best possible supplements. There are more detailed articles you can find online, but to summarise it as briefly as possible, folic acid is not well absorbed, and neither is it the body’s preferred form of folate. In fact in a worst scenario, folic acid can build up in the body and interfere with the folate pathway enzymes. Folate is the natural and safer form, and even when taking folic acid, it has to be converted by the body into folate anyway in order to use it. 

Why added Vitamin B6 and Folate?

Vitamin B6 and folate work synergistically with Vitamin B-12 in lowering serum homocysteine levels and nutritionally supporting a healthy nervous system and cardiovascular function. High homocysteine levels have been shown to be an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, or vascular disease. When there is too much homocysteine in the blood, arteries can become damaged and plaque can form. The result can be arteriosclerosis and heart disease if we don’t receive enough of certain vitamins such as B6, B12, and Folic acid. These B vitamins are often missing from our diets because artificially processing and refining natural foods destroys these vital nutrients.

Why does this product not contain tri-methyl glycine (TMG) found in most similar products?

TMG does reduce homocysteine, and is in some similar formulatons. But it may also lower folate acid absorption in some people, and is allergenic for some individuals, which makes it potentially counter productive. 

Possible Benefits of Methylcobalamin B-12
 

• May support a healthy nervous system.
• May lift mood
• May improve mental clarity
• May support emotional balance
• May support healthy cardiovascular function.
• May reduce homocysteine
• May increase stamina
• May cut risk of heart disease
• May be useful for those with poor food absorption, (especially with older people).
• May be useful for vegetarians and vegans, who are more susceptible to deficiency
   

Vitamin B12 and depression

Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins, especially folic acid (folate), play a role in the production of certain neurotransmitters, which are important in regulating mood and other brain functions. Some cases of depression have been associated with Vitamin B12 deficiency (usually alongside folic acid deficiency). When the deficiency has been corrected, the depression has got better. Researchers have also found that people with depression are more likely to have high levels of homocysteine which the Vitamin B12 and the folic acid in Unique B12 helps to control.

The evidence:

1. Fava M, Borus JS, Alpert JE, Nierenberg AA, Rosenbaum JF, Bottiglieri T. Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in major depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Mar;154(3):426-8.
2. Morris MS, Fava M, Jacques PF, Selhub J, Rosenberg IH. Depression and folate status in the US Population. Psychother Psychosom. 2003 Mar-Apr;72(2):59-60.
    

Part II: Homocysteine

Homocysteine is a subject we are going to be hearing a lot more about over the next few years. We predict (in 2007) that within 10 years, we will be discussing this far more than our cholesterol levels. It is a type of protein, produced by the body and found in the blood that, ideally, should be present in very low quantities. Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic acid have been shown to help to keep it under low. High levels of homocysteine has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for over 50 diseases, including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Heart Attacks and Strokes

The largest review of 92 studies, by David Wald and colleagues from the Department of Cardiology at Southampton General Hospital, recently published in the British Medical Journal, examined the association between homocysteine and risk of cardiovascular disease in 20,000 people.

They found that, with every five unit increase in homocysteine measured in the blood, the risk of heart disease went up 42% in those with the MTHFR gene mutation and 32% in those without. The risk for strokes went up 65% in those with the genetic mutation and 59% for those without. The researchers concluded that these "highly significant results indicate strong evidence that the association between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease is causal".

(Source: Wald DS and Morris JK. Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease: evidence on causality from a meta-analysis. BMJ. 325: 1202. 2002.)

This means that having a high homocysteine level isn't just associated with higher risk, it actually causes heart disease – a conclusion that is also being reached by other research groups.

(Source: Clerk M et al. 'MTHFR 677C>T Polymorphism and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease'. JAMA. Vol. 288(16): 2023-2031. 2002.)

This means that if you can lower your homocysteine level (your H score) you remove a key cause, and hence diminish the risk.

While the average homocysteine level is around 10 units, an ideal level is below six units. Those with a history of cardiovascular disease often have a level above 15 units. According to this study, this means that lowering a high homocysteine from 16 to six units – a 10 point drop – could cut risk significantly! This is not only much more substantial a reduction than cholesterol, it's also more achievable. How? With nutrients, not drugs.

Alzheimer's – Halve Your Risk

The evidence indicates that if you can lower your H score, you will significantly lower your risk of getting Alzheimer's. Homocysteine is strongly linked to damage in the brain. Dr Matsu Toshifumi and colleagues at Tohoku University, Japan, conducted brain scans on 153 elderly people and checked them against each individual's homocysteine level. The evidence was crystal clear – the higher the homocysteine, the greater the damage to the brain.[4]

A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine charted the health of 1,092 elderly people without dementia, measuring their homocysteine levels. Within the next eight years, 111 were diagnosed with dementia. Eighty-three of this group were diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Those with high blood homocysteine levels (in this study, above 14 units) had nearly double the risk of Alzheimer's. All this strongly suggests that following a homocysteine lowering regime should significantly decrease your risk of developing Alzheimer's in later years.

Source: Seshadri S et al. 'Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease'. New England Journal of Medicine. 346(7): 476-483. 2002.

Halve Your Risk of Death from All Causes

Extraordinary findings from a comprehensive research study at the University of Bergen in Norway were published in 2001 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.6 They measured the homocysteine levels of 4,766 men and women aged 65 to 67 back in 1992, and then recorded any deaths over the next five years, during which 162 men and 97 women died. They then looked at the risk of death in relation to their homocysteine levels. Remarkably, they not only reconfirmed the relationship between heart attacks, strokes and high homocysteine, but also found that "a strong relation was found between homocysteine and all causes of mortality". In other words, homocysteine is an accurate predictor of how long you are going to live, whatever the eventual cause of death may be!

With every five-point increase in H score, researchers found:

• 49% increased deaths from all causes
•  
• 50% increase in cardiovascular mortality

Source: Vollset SE et al. 'Plasma total homocysteine and cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality: the Hordaland Homocsyteine Study'. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 74(1): 130-136. 2001.

The Good News:

The good news is that this new and important risk factor can be reversed in weeks.

One study found that H scores reduced by 17% on high dose folic acid alone and 19% by B12 alone, but by 60% with folic acid, B12 and B6. All this was achieved in three weeks!

(Source: Koyama K et al. 'Efficacy of methylcobalamin on lowering total homocysteine plasma concentrations in haemodialysis patients receiving high-dose folate supplementation'. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 17: 916-22. 2002).

Part III: Benefits of Folate, B6 and Biotin supplementation

Folate is also known as Vitamin B9. It is essential for the manufacture and maintenance of new cells, and is recommended during the early stages of pregnancy. It is necessary for the normal structure of the neural tube in developing embryos, thus reducing the chances of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. It also helps to manufacture red blood cells, which in turn supply the body with oxygen.

Vitamin B6's main claim to fame (apart from helping to lower homocysteine) lies in it's being reported to help women reduce the symptoms of PMS and PMT. It also is involved with helping the absorption of zinc, which in turn is involved with hundreds of reactions in the body. It has been suggested that one of the main causes of zinc deficiency is a deficiency of Vitamin B6.

Biotin is also known as Vitamin B7 and helps with the absorption of other B vitamins. Biotin is also needed for the normal growth and development of skin and hair and the maintenance of a healthy nervous system

Supplement Facts
 

Serving Size	One Capsule	% NRV
Vitamin B6	5mg	357%
Vitamin B12	1,000mcg	40,000%
Folate (as L-5-Methyltetrahydrofolate Calcium)	40mcg	200%
Biotin	25mcg	50%

Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline Cellulose, Magnesium Stearate, Nu-Mag*, Veggie Capsule Shell (HMPC)

*Nu-Mag is a natural flow agent, selected in preference to synthetic ones

Storage Advice:

Store in a cool dry place out of reach of children. Do not use if seal is broken. Use within 12 months of opening.

Manufactured in a facility that handles celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, milk, molluscs, soybeans, sulphites and products thereof.

Consult your GP if pregnant or taking prescribed medication before taking this product.

Net Content 90 Vegetarian capsules

Testimonials (from original formulation as "Unique B12")

(Please note, the following reports are anecdotal. Individual results may vary).

Unique B12 has increased my energy level!
Aurea J. Age: 58

Unique B12 is working great, perhaps better than the variety you find in the mall vitamin stores.
Merlin E. Age: 63

My Homocysteine level tested 14.8 (normal range 3.3-11.4) last November and I was having some nuerological symptoms. I started taking Unique B12 sublingual nightly and about 4 months later my Homocysteine level has gone down to around 9. I do not tire as easily and I have less neurological symptoms. My worry about heart attack and stroke threat was also relieved.
Julia K. Age: 74

I suffered from back pain and sciatica for several months. Then my doctor put me on Unique B12. I’ve been taking it now for several months and am no longer bothered with back pain and sciatica, thanks to Unique B12.
Henry H. Age: 69

I am a registered nurse and work long hours and different shifts. My energy level was low and my stamina had reached a point where I could not work a full shift without being so tired when I got home I would set down to rest and fall asleep. Then I started taking Unique B12 and within 3-4 weeks my energy level and stamina have greatly increased.
Barbara J. Age: 49

I heard about Unique B12 from a friend. I bought some and once I started taking it my energy level and mental clarity has improved 100 %.
Maria S. Age: 69