B vitamins are essential water soluble vitamins that our body needs to perform a multitude of important cellular processes. They are the most necessary vitamins for converting our food into energy and making red blood cells. They are crucial to our energy levels and prevent numerous diseases including heart disease. Other health benefits of B vitamins include brain health, cell health, digestive system health, nerve function, and promoting hormones and cholesterol production. Taking a B vitamin complex supplement can be useful in maintaining your health and ensuring you are getting adequate levels of B vitamins in your system. They may also help to enhance your workout performance, particularly if taken before a workout.
Should You Take B Vitamins As A Pre-Workout Supplement?
B vitamins are vital for energy production, support blood and brain health, and may support protein synthesis which is necessary for building muscle. If you don’t get enough B vitamins, you will likely feel more fatigued and experience muscle weakness. This will no doubt affect workout performance, especially in the long run. Additionally, B vitamins, namely vitamin B12, helps in supporting protein synthesis. The theory behind taking B vitamins surrounding your workouts is that building muscle increases protein synthesis as well as protein breakdown. Because B12 is necessary for the breakdown of amino acids, it plays a role in building muscle. This is why vitamin B12 is commonly used as an ingredient in pre-workout supplements.
Can You Combine B Vitamins With Other Supplements?
B vitamins are naturally occurring water soluble nutrients, meaning our body doesn’t make them and can’t store them for very long. It’s very difficult to overdo it on B vitamins unless you take much more than the recommended amount in supplement form. There are relatively few if any side effects from combining B vitamins with other supplements as they are natural and necessary nutrients. B vitamins can be taken at any time of the day though could be most effective before a strength training workout. Pre-workout supplements commonly combine both vitamin B12 with BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids), caffeine, and electrolytes to enhance exercise performance.
The Bottom Line
Vitamins, especially B vitamins, are important for overall health and well-being. When we become deficient in essential nutrients, we notice the health consequences in both the short term and long term. A healthy well-balanced diet is the best way to ensure we are getting the proper nutrients we need, however many modern day diets are lacking in these specific nutrients. Vitamin supplements provide an easy and convenient way to get the necessary amounts of vitamins and nutrients we need to thrive. If you are serious about your fitness goals, supplements may be the best way to ensure you are getting the right amounts of B vitamins you need to meet those goals.
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