B Vitamins: The Miracle “Drug” for Pain
Go ahead, Google Vitamin Bs for pain. You will see all the articles and studies that tote the amazing effects of B Vitamins on all kinds on pain conditions. With science to back it up, B Vitamins appear as something of a miracle ‘drug’ for pain sufferers. And for myself, a long time pain sufferer who’s life was run by pain for many years, I can personally attest to them being life changing.
(Warning: quick, and snarky, side question) Has your doctor told you about these? Mine never did. I wonder if their Google settings have some kind of medical industry “safety block”, that keeps any results besides expensive RX drugs, from showing???
Anyway, I digress.
Vitamin Bs are shown to reduce or even eliminate pain across a wide range of pain types.
From Headaches, to Back Pain, Nerve Pain, Diabetic Neuropathy, Chemotherapy pain, and even Menstrual cramps… Vitamin Bs are proving an effective natural treatment, and natural cure, for pain.
Let’s get to how these Bs actually work:
Thiamin (B1) for Pain
Studies are showing that doses of Thiamine (or B1) are having a major effect on reducing all types of pain. Thiamine helps regulate pain processing and glucose metabolism. Two things often found as “out of whack” in many different types of pain sufferers. If your diet includes coffee, sugar, fresh fish, alcohol, or other random foods and drink that cause a decrease in absorption of Thiamine, you may be one of many that have a deficiency in this particular vitamin. And that deficiency may be manifesting as your current form of pain.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) for Pain
This one has a lot of research showing it “greatly reduces migraines”. People with migraines often show a deficiency in Riboflavin, a key vitamin in many brain functions. It also is a key part of metabolizing oxygen in the brain and how our bodies make energy. Scientists believe it is this shared trait in migraine sufferers that may lead to their migraines. Hence why supplementation of this Vitamin has proven so effective.
Niacin (B3) for Pain
Did you know Niacin (or B3) helps you release serotonin from your gut (where 90% of serotonin is made) into your blood stream so you can “use” it? Did you also know that Serotonin has a major role in modulating pain perception? It’s true, serotonin drugs are being used to treat various forms of chronic pain. By helping your body release more of it, maybe we can skip the narcotics and go straight to the source. And for you headache sufferers: Niacin helps regulate your blood vessels which when malfunctioning, leads to headaches.
Pantathonic Acid (Vitamin B5) for Pain
Diabetic nerve pain, Rheumatoid Arthritis, headaches, even depression, Vitamin B5 has an affect on all types of conditions in recent studies. Many pain sufferers are showing to be deficient in this vitamin. Pantathonic Acid (or B5) is sometimes called the “anti-stress” vitamin. It’s role in processing stress in the body is thought to be related to its effectiveness on pain management.
Vitamin B6 for Pain
B6 plays a role in synthesizing serotonin, meaning actually getting use out of it (vs it just floating around useless). Serotonin is not only that wonderful chemical that makes us feel happier, but it affects our muscles, our brain’s pain receptors. It even reduces pain causing toxins in our blood.
Vitamin B9 (Folate) for Pain
Folate (or B9) is shown to have a positive impact on various types of pains including rheumatoid arthritis, myofascial pain, nerve pain, and cancer-associated pain, among others. It is seen to reduce joint pain, play a role in nerve injury repair, and reduce the levels of homocysteine in blood which is strongly linked to pain.
Vitamin B12 for Pain
B12 may be the most important of all the Bs for us pain sufferers. Research finds that in all types of pain sufferers, a deficiency in this vitamin is being seen. It is important because B12 is critical in regenerating nerves, inhibiting pain inducing enzymes and other pain-signaling pathways, and helping to reduce those pesky pain inducing toxins in the blood. It is being talked about as “the” Vitamin B to look at.
The bottom line is, Vitamin Bs are proving a major possibility to solving pain for many of those out there suffering.
As always though, we invite you to do your own research. We are here to try to alert you to what might work for you, and provide a summary of all we can find about it. Your next question, may be how do I try it?
First, we always recommend keeping a journal for a week before you try anything new. As well as a month after to isolate any changes to how you feel – both good changes, or not so good. Natural vitamins rarely have negative side effects, which make them so great. And even better, there are never the extreme side effects (“may cause permanent paralysis, depression, and even death”) that we have become desensitized to on our RX commercials :).
The brand of Vitamin truly does matter though.
With limited oversight in the supplement industry, many brands out there contain extra ingredients that can be harmful to you or increase risk of side effects. Some don’t even contain active forms of the vitamin they claim to contain at all.
Also! Some of us process things differently. I personally don’t absorb nutrients well. So when trying the pill form of my Vitamin Bs, I wasn’t getting enough. I had to move to a sublingual form (where you squirt it under your tongue), to get fast, improved absorption… and wow did it make a difference. Some people may find the sublingual TOO much though. So we are suggesting two brands in two forms, we have done our research on.
As always, it is your call to take our advice or do your own research. Also, talk to your doc about starting one of these. Sometimes other meds we are on, can counteract Vitamin Bs or vice versa. But personally, I would hope your Doctor encourages you to try whatever may help… but don’t be surprised if they dismiss it as being something you shouldn’t try simply because they don’t believe in it…. just remember, the science says differently.
We hope this helps, and until next time…. Happy Healing!
