Tag: B-vitamins

Vitamin B12 as the Ultimate Wingman – Book Excerpt of the Week

Vitamin B12 as the Ultimate Wingman – Book Excerpt of the Week

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Vitamin B12 is the Ultimate Wingman! In this week’s book excerpt, we’ll discuss how B12 helps both folate and boring-basic-biotin, and why this makes B12 a good energy drink ingredient.

B12 as Folate’s Wingman

Remember when we talked about what folate does? Cells that rely on folate for growth and maturation also depend on B12 because it recycles folate, restoring it for the next round of DNA synthesis. Without B12, folate gets used up and stuck with a single carbon group. That’s like trying to take a cup of coffee from someone when you’re already holding a cup of water in each hand. To make sure sells get enough DNA to mature and divide, B12 and folate have to work as a team.

But that’s not the only vitamin B12 assists:

B12 as a side-kick to Boring Basic Biotin

One molecule of fat has three fatty acids, like a three-pronged fork. Each fatty acid is a chain of carbons. Each chain gets oxidized (broken down) two carbons at a time. This becomes a problem when there’s only thee left, so a special reaction takes place for the last three in the chain.

For the science nerds: That reaction is the transformation of a 3-carbon molecule (methylmalonyl CoA) to a 4-carbon molecule (succinyl CoA). CoA is short for coenzyme A.

Vitamin B12 helps Boring Basic Biotin handle these odd numbered units so they can get metabolized into energy through the Krebs cycle.

Why B12 makes a good energy drink ingredient

The Krebs cycle is a giant wheel of reactions that leads to massive amount of energy per turn. Since B12 helps fats get “into shape” (as in, from odd-to-even numbered) to enter the Krebs cycle, B12 is facilitating the production of energy. It may not be as boring as biotin or as amazing as niacin (my favorite B-vitamin), but B12 gets the award for the best team player.

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To learn more about B12 and the other B-vitamins, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

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What does Vitamin B6 do? Book Excerpt of the Week

What does Vitamin B6 do? Book Excerpt of the Week

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For last week’s book excerpt from the Energy Drink Guide, we talked about where we get Vitamin B6 (aside from energy drinks, other sports supplements, and fortified foods like breakfast cereals). This week’s book excerpt is about what vitamin B6 does.

Vitamin B6 helps the body make protein. Ever heard of essential and non-essential amino acids? Vitamin B6 helps our bodies make those non-essential amino acids…(through a process called transamination, for you biochem nerds). B6 also helps us maintain optimal blood sugar levels.

what does b6 do

Gluconeogenesis = creating new glucose.
Glycogenolysis = breaking down the stored form of glucose into its itty-bitty pieces.

Breaking down the stored form of glucose means we can tap into those reserves when we need them. And this isn’t just for emergencies – our bodies go through glycogenolysis all the time. If B-vitamins were all Marvel Avengers, Vitamin B6 would be another star member, like thiamin, riboflavin, and especially (my favorite) niacin.

Vitamin B6 has several more jobs that are important and not boring like other vitamins (*cough, #boringbasicbiotin ) BUT we’ll have to talk about that next week and/or you’ll have to get a copy of my book “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks – How They Work, Why They Work, How To Use Them Safely” available on Audible, Amazon, and wherever books are sold.

To learn more about riboflavin and the other B-vitamins, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.

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Where Does Vitamin B6 Come From? Science of Energy Drinks – Book Excerpt of the Week

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For this week’s book excerpt from the Energy Drink Guide, we enter the Vitamin B6 chapter of Part Three: How Do They Work. Vitamin B6 is often included in energy drinks, AS WELL AS many other sports supplements! Before we get into what B6 does, let’s talk about where we get it.

Vitamin B6
We get B6 from MUSCLES! When we get to what B6 does, it will become obvious why B6 lives in muscles.

*no spoilers*.

Meat and fish are the best sources of B6 because meat has muscles…Potatoes have eyes though. (ha-ha-ha…) Potatoes are a good source of B6, as well as carrots, spinach, avocados, and bananas.
Stay tuned for more book excerpts from my book about energy drinks and their ingredients, “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks, How They Work, Why They Work How To Use Them Safely” available on Audible and also on Amazon as an e-book, paperback, and hardcover!

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What if I told you about gluco-neo-genesis and biotin- Book Excerpt of the Week

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Gluco–neo–genesis literally means the creation of new glucose. This process is kind of a big deal because glucose is the primary source of fuel for our bodies and there are times we have to make that fuel ourselves (as opposed to ingesting it). That process of gluconeogenesis relies on enzymes, which are like tiny machines in our bodies that do the work to keep us functioning. Those enzymes/machines rely on the vitamin BIOTIN the way a remote control relies on batteries.

In general, BIOTIN-dependent enzymes are involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins BUT BIOTIN is REALLY BASIC and BORING in the role it plays. We’ll get to that next week…

🤓💚📚🔬☕Get your copy of my book “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks- How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely” on Amazon http://amzn.to/2bjHRbk
(⁉️⚡paperback, hardcover, e-book available, AUDIOBOOK COMING SOOOOOON⚡⁉️)

STAY TUNED every Monday (and sometimes Tuesday) for more book excerpts and the science behind energy drink ingredients as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.

Let’s connect!

DIY Biotin Deficiency- Book Excerpt of the Week

DIY Biotin Deficiency- Book Excerpt of the Week

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Lights, camera, ACTON: We find our sports hero adding multiple egg whites to a blender. The egg whites are raw like his brute masculinity. He chugs this concoction and prepares for the game. As he walks onto the field, we zoom in to see the ferocity in his eyes and, eew! They’re all red and inflamed and leaking fluid.

Our hero, in his fervor to seize the Eye of the Tiger, now has symptoms of BIOTIN DEFICIENCY because a protein a protein in raw egg whites grabs onto Biotin and doesn’t let go. Look up the definition for “avid”, that’s where Avidin gets its name. The Avidin-Biotin bond is the strongest bond of its kind in nature!

So how many egg whites does it take? Does this “DIY Biotin Deficiency” happen with cooked egg whites? What else happens when Avidin grabs Biotin? For those answers, my friends, you’re going to want to get a copy of my book – “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks- How They Work, Why They Work, How to Use Them Safely” available as e-book, paperback, and hardcover from Amazon and wherever books are sold.

STAY TUNED every Monday (and sometimes Tuesday) for more book excerpts and the science behind energy drink ingredients as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide.

Let’s connect!