B12 for Runners

Running, especially long distances, takes a significant toll on your body, requiring you to increase your nutrient intake. Running increases your heart rate, blood flow, breathing and need for excess calories. Essential nutrients are in greater demand, especially those influencing cardiovascular health, energy balance and protein metabolism. Vitamin B12 is required for all of these functions.

If you are a runner who is beginning to feel lethargic and run-down or would like to enhance your performance, consider your intake of vitamin B12. Its primary role is to aid other nutrients. It assists in fat, cholesterol and protein metabolism by breaking them down into usable energy;ensures dietary folate becomes functional and is released into the body; maintains your neurological health and development; and helps form DNA, which is needed for constant cell formation. As a runner, your cell turnover and nutrient metabolism is greater than the average individual, so avoid becoming deficient.

Vitamin B12 is necessary to prevent a form of anemia, which is very debilitating to a runner’s performance. Folate is required to form mature red blood cells. In the absence of B12, folate deficiency occurs and immature red blood cells are released. They are unable to fulfill their purpose of carrying oxygen throughout the body, making you anemic, with the symptoms of tiredness, lethargy and muscle aches and cramps. Other symptoms of deficiency include neurological and spinal cord degeneration – more often seen in older ages. Also, if folate is not converted, the chemical homocysteine builds up and becomes toxic in the lining of your blood vessels, creating plaque and becoming a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. As a runner, you want premium heart health for premium function.

Running, especially endurance and marathon training, uses more nutrients and places a lot of impact and stress on the body. Micronutrient deficiencies are more likely to occur and B-vitamin deficiencies are quite common, especially in female athletes and marathon runners. The B vitamins, including B12, are all necessary for energy maintenance. Their deficiency can impair performance, endurance and the conversion of food into energy. As mentioned, B12 is also required to prevent anemia and enhance blood flow and heart function – all essential for optimum running. Thus, it is crucial for you runners to maintain a well-balanced diet if you want to see improvement in your performance.

Vitamin B12 is found exclusively in animal foods, but also formed by some yeasts and bacteria. The richest sources include liver, fish, meat and eggs, so strict vegetarians and vegans are most at risk of deficiency. Because B12 is essential for cardiovascular function and the production of red blood cells, it is important for runners to consume foods high in B12 or to take a supplement. B12 can come in the forms of methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin. Cyanocobalamin is much cheaper, but less absorbed and may not correct an individual’s deficiency. Read supplement labels to see if vitamin B12 is in the form of methylocobalamin.