B Activ

• Vitamin supplement.
• A factor in maintaining good health.
• Helps the body metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
• Helps normal growth and development.
• Helps in tissue formation.
• Helps in the formation of red blood cells.
• Helps support liver function.
• Helps prevent folate deficiency in men and women who are not pregnant or breastfeeding.

Water-soluble B vitamins must be absorbed in the small intestine and then travel to the liver where they are biotransformed into their active coenzyme forms. B Activ contains vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B6 ​​(pyridoxine), and B12 (methylcobalamin) in their physiologically active form, making them easier to absorb and "ready to use." For example, in patients receiving pyridoxine hydrochloride, only 33% responded with an increase in plasma pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (P5P); however, the level increased in all patients receiving P5P.

Folate is supplied as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), which bypasses the metabolic steps of folate bioactivity. Despite research showing that folic acid and 5-MTHF have equivalent bioavailability and that supplementing with high doses of folic acid can "force" its conversion to a more active form, 5-MTHF may be the preferred form for replenishing folate. This may be particularly applicable to individuals with digestive issues or genetic variations in folate metabolism. In this formula, 5-MTHF is supplied as Quatrefolic, the glucosamine salt of 5-MTHF. In vitro and in vivo studies have proven that Quatrefolic has greater stability, solubility, and bioavailability than calcium salt forms of 5-MTHF. Folate is stored in small amounts in red blood cells (RBCs), and RBC folate has been shown to be higher after 5-MTHF supplementation compared to folic acid and placebo. Similarly, patients receiving 5 mg of 5-MTHF had plasma 5-MTHF levels 700% higher than those receiving folic acid.

Another unique ingredient in this formula is benfotiamine (S-benzoylthiamine O-monophosphate), a safe, fat-soluble analog of thiamine. One study showed that it not only increased blood and tissue levels of thiamine at least five times more than the water-soluble salt, but also remained bioavailable after oral administration up to 3.6 times longer than the thiamine salt.[6] Benfotiamine is the most potent of a class of thiamine-derived compounds found in small amounts in members of the genus Allium. The superiority of its biological activity over thiamine lies in its structure—a thiazole ring opens to allow easy diffusion across a membrane, then closes to become structurally active.

Benfotiamine increases transketolase activity, thereby diverting three natural, but destructive, metabolic pathways: 1) it decreases glucose metabolites that lead to the accumulation of certain types of harmful advanced glycation end products (AGEs); 2) it normalizes protein kinase C activity; and 3) it protects the retina by preventing NF-kappaB activation in the retina. Research suggests it may also protect kidneys and endothelial cells. Benfotiamine is useful for replenishing thiamine; this may be especially true in people who use the vitamin at higher rates or in those with lifestyle habits that deplete it.