Category Archives: Vitamin B

The Betaine Choline Link

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Betaine and choline are closely related compounds from a structural and functional perspective. Betaine is also called trimethylglycine and choline is also called tetramethylglycine. Both compounds function as methyl donors, and when choline donates a methyl group it becomes betaine. … Continue reading →

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Make Sure Your Mother Gets Her B12 (Before You Are Born)

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Choline is an important component of phospholipids, functions in lipid metabolism and is also able to form the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Choline can be derived from the diet, but is also synthesised endogenously. The synthesis of choline requires methylation and this … Continue reading →

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Is Thiamine An Antidepressant?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Thiamine is an essential nutrient, a deficient intake of which causes the deficiency disease beriberi (here). Thiamine is absorbed and phosphorylated in the liver to produce the active coenzyme thiamine pyrophosphate (also called thiamine diphosphate). Thiamine pyrophosphate may play an … Continue reading →

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Do Vegetarians Need Vitamin B12 Supplements?

Posted on September 18, 2014 by Robert Barrington
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More On Vitamin Insufficiencies

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Vitamins are essential nutrients and as such a dietary threshold exists below which a deficiency disease will develop. However, as well as vitamin deficiencies, it is possible to develop a vitamin insufficiency, which is defined as a chronic low intake, … Continue reading →

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Do Vegetarians Require A B12 Supplement?

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin B12 is a generic name for a group of cobalamin vitamers that includes adenosylcobalamin, hydroxycobalamin, cyanocobalamin, aquacobalamin, nitrocobalamin and methylcobalamin. All vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria. Vitamin B12 is an important coenzyme to three key enzymes in human … Continue reading →

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Homocysteine and Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Homocysteine is an intermediate metabolite of the methionine to cysteine pathway. Under normal circumstances homocysteine is synthesised back to methionine using the salvage pathway or is further metabolised to cysteine via the enzyme cystathionine beta-synthase. However, these two pathways rely … Continue reading →

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The Yellow Urine Paradox

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Studies show that riboflavin is not required in intakes above around 2 mg per day for a typical adult (here) and excess riboflavin is excreted in the urine. Anyone who has taken B vitamins will know that they can turn … Continue reading →

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The Betaine Folate Relationship

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Epigenetics is the relatively new science interested in the interaction between the environment and DNA. Environmental changes can influence genetic make-up through stable modification to gene expression not mediated by changes in DNA sequence. This is achieved through methylation of … Continue reading →

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Riboflavin and Calcium: The Milk Link

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Widespread nutrient deficiencies are frequently reported in the literature, and often multiple nutrient deficiencies are present in large numbers of those individuals under study. Nutrient deficiencies are common in the developing World because many of the people living there do … Continue reading →

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