Functions and roles of B vitamins in carbohydrate restriction

What is the relationship between B vitamins and carbohydrate restriction?

Hello everyone! I'm the owner of Fusubon. Today I'm going to talk about the relationship between carbohydrate restriction and B vitamins.

Many people may have taken vitamin B supplements. I also started taking vitamin B complex supplements when I developed acne during my student days.

Vitamin B is essential for ATP production in the TCA cycle, which is key in carbohydrate restriction.

Overall, it would be good to think of vitamins as acting as catalysts to help metabolic reactions.

Among the B vitamins, B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), and B5 (pantothenic acid) are necessary for energy metabolism in mitochondria. If you are deficient in these B vitamins, the TCA cycle will not function properly.

If you are deficient in B vitamins, your metabolism will not work properly, causing rough skin. This is because the turnover rate of skin and mucous membranes is faster than that of other cells. Rough skin and mouth ulcers can be said to be indicators of metabolic disorders throughout the body.

Characteristics of Vitamins B1 to B12

Vitamin B1 is essential before the TCA cycle

Vitamin B1 acts as a coenzyme in the glycolysis pathway, when pyruvate is converted into acetyl CoA. If you are on a carbohydrate restriction diet, you don't need much vitamin B1, so it is conserved.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

It is an essential substance in the mitochondrial TCA cycle and electron transport chain, and also has antioxidant properties.

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

Although 1 mg of niacin can be synthesized in the body from 60 mg of tryptophan, it is very inefficient. There seems to be a definition of a vitamin that cannot be synthesized in the body, and as a result, niacin is no longer referred to as vitamin B3.
Niacin is used in the treatment of depression, as it is involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitters from amino acids and a lack of it reduces the amount of neurotransmitters produced.
It is involved in the TCA cycle and electron transport chain in mitochondria.

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

It helps deliver acetyl-CoA to the TCA cycle as pyruvate → acetyl-CoA and fatty acids → acetyl-CoA.

Vitamin B6 is necessary for amino acid metabolism (protein metabolism)

Vitamin B6 is essential for breaking down proteins into amino acids and resynthesizing amino acids to produce various substances in the body.
Vitamin B6 acts as a coenzyme in the synthesis of happiness-related neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, and in the production of red blood cells.
Excess homocysteine ​​(an essential amino acid found in the blood) can cause oxidative stress, but with vitamin B6, homocysteine ​​can be converted into cysteine, making it harmless.

When restricting carbohydrate intake, the body weight is taken as the unit of body weight, and the amount of protein consumed may be around "body weight" x 1.5g, or in some cases "body weight" x 1.8g. However, some people have difficulty metabolizing the protein, making it difficult to build muscle, becoming constipated, or having low urea nitrogen levels in blood tests even if their albumin levels are high. In such cases, supplementing with B vitamins can help with protein metabolism.

Vitamin B7 (biotin) is involved in gluconeogenesis and fatty acid synthesis.

It acts as a coenzyme when producing oxaloacetate from pyruvate in gluconeogenesis and when producing malonyl-CoA from acetyl-CoA in fatty acid synthesis.

Vitamin B9 (folic acid) is involved in DNA synthesis, etc.

It is an essential nutrient for cell division and DNA synthesis, and is an essential vitamin for red blood cell synthesis, protein synthesis, and fetal growth. Vitamin B12 is required for activation, so it is necessary to take B12 at the same time.
On the other hand, if you take in too much vitamin B9, you may not be able to detect a vitamin B12 deficiency and there is a risk of developing pernicious anemia, so the upper limit for intake is set at 1,000 μg per day.
It can convert homocysteine ​​(an essential amino acid found in the blood) into methionine, making it harmless.

Vitamin B12 is necessary for the activation of Vitamin B9

A red water-soluble vitamin that helps synthesize hemoglobin in red blood cells together with folic acid. It is necessary for the activation of folic acid.

Summary of Vitamin B

I have explained the roles of vitamins in detail above, but I hope you understand that if you are deficient in B vitamins, regardless of whether you are on a carbohydrate restriction diet, various metabolisms and synthesis in the body will not work properly . It may be difficult to get enough vitamins through diet alone, so please supplement with supplements. See you next time!