The B complex vitamins are a family of nutrients that have been grouped together because they are interrelated and are found in similar food sources. When supplementing, they should not be taken individually. Most B vitamins cannot be stored in the body, so they must be replaced daily. Stress, processed foods, refined sugars, prescription drugs, and environment toxins deplete the body of B vitamins. Cooking food also kills B vitamins.

Vitamin B deficiencies can weaken capillaries and make them susceptible to leakage, which can trigger cytokine production. Cytokines cause many fibromyalgia symptoms. In the brain, cytokines can cause behavioral changes. They can either prompt or worsen depression, anxiety, or anorexia. They may cause a person to become withdrawn. Cytokines create fatigue and interfere with sleep patterns. They are one thing responsible for what has been termed “brain fog.”

Deficiencies in these vitamins have also been shown to cause tinnitus and research shows that supplementation may improve the disorder. Low B vitamin levels can also cause symptoms like chronic fatigue, paranoia, the inability to concentrate, irritability, insomnia, restlessness, tingling in the hands, fingers, and toes, rashes, and soreness all over.

Vitamin B-3 is required for proper metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, as well as for the production of hydrochloric acid (HCL). This is important because clinicians report that 50% of patients with autoimmune disease are low in HCL. This vital nutrient is also necessary for the synthesis of insulin and the sex hormones.

Healthy vitamin B-3 sources include broccoli, carrots, eggs, and fish. However, it is difficult to get enough B-3 from food. Furthermore, even with adequate amounts, starch, corn, antibiotics, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and birth control pills reduce the effectiveness of B vitamins.

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