B-Complex Vitamins – Pantothenic Acid Health Benefits
Pantothenic acid gets its name from the Greek word “pantos” meaning “everywhere”, which is quite appropriate for this vitamin as pantothenic acid is found in many different types of foods. Yet despite its abundance in nature, not many people are aware of its benefits and that it is essential for life.
Like its relative biotin, pantothenic acid can be found in a variety beauty products, especially those for the hair such as shampoos and conditioners. The idea that this vitamin is good for promoting healthy hair originated from an experiment on pantothenic acid deficient mice, from which, researchers concluded that it was important for helping hair to maintain its natural color and to not turn grey as a person ages.
However, research on humans has not supported these findings, but despite this, many people still view pantothenic acid as being good for their hair and so cosmetic manufacturers continue to highlight its inclusion in their products.
But just like with biotin, even if pantothenic acid was beneficial for promoting healthy hair, it would most likely not be absorbed very well through the skin and so wouldn’t be of much benefit anyway.
Why Is Pantothenic Acid Important?
Pantothenic acid, also known as vitamin B5, is a member of the B-complex vitamins along with seven other members as shown below:
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 (niacin)
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)
• Vitamin B7 (biotin)
• Vitamin B9 (folic acid)
• Vitamin B12 (cobalamins)
Like all the other B vitamins, vitamin B5 is water soluble and so it cannot be stored in the body. As a result, you need to make sure that you are getting enough vitamin B5 on a daily basis if you wish to obtain optimal levels of health.
Unfortunately, the B vitamins tend to be overshadowed by more commercially popular vitamins such as vitamin C and vitamin E, but as you shall see in the following two videos, they are just as important as they play many essential roles within the body, without which, your health would really start to suffer.
The health benefits of pantothenic acid come as a result of the biological effects that it has within the human body. Below we shall examine some of these effects, and then afterwards, list the main benefits that this vitamin provides us with.
Energy
One thing that is common amongst all the B-complex vitamins is that they play a vital role in energy metabolism, or more specifically, helping you to obtain energy from the proteins, carbohydrates and fats that you consume as part of your normal everyday diet. Vitamin B5 is no different in this regard, as it needed to produce a very important enzyme known as coenzyme-A (CoA).
Now, here’s a little test for you. Can you remember back to your days at high school when you took chemistry classes and learned about the Krebs cycle also known as the citric acid cycle or the tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA)? Can you remember learning about coenzyme-A?
Well, in case you forgot, the Krebs cycle is basically a series of enzymatic reactions that occur in mitochondria which are involved in producing energy so that the body has something to run itself with.
The reason pantothenic acid is important is because it is needed to synthesize coenzyme-A, which itself is needed to begin the Krebs cycle and thus supply your body with energy. So if your mitochondria are like power stations, then pantothenic acid is like the button you press to get them started.
Other Roles
Pantothenic acid plays many other essential roles within the body, as through the production of coenzyme-A, it also helps to produce fatty acids, cholesterol and acetylcholine.
Fatty Acids
Fatty acids come in two main forms, saturated and unsaturated. The body can use fatty acids as a source of fuel, and it can also use them to produce components of cells such as the cell membrane.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol has gained a bad reputation due to its association with heart disease, but it is actually something which is essential in the body as it is used to produce hormones, vitamin D, cell membranes and is also found in high concentrations in the brain.
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter that allows neurons to communicate with each other, thereby enabling the brain to send messages within itself and throughout the body.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Vitamin B5?
The health benefits of vitamin B5 come largely as a result of it enabling the body to make energy and to produce other components that it needs to function properly. Due to this role, it has many wide ranging benefits that cover both ones physical and mental health. Listed below is a summary of these benefits.
• Needed to obtain energy from protein, carbohydrate and fat.
• Required for red blood cell production.
• Enables the body to produce hormones.
• Needed to produce neurotransmitters and so is beneficial for ones ability to think clearly, concentrate and remember things.
• Stimulates antibody production and so helps to promote a healthy immune system.
• Sometimes called an anti-stress vitamin because it helps to lower stress levels.
• Helps to prevent fatigue.
• Promotes heart health by regulating cholesterol levels.
• May help to delay premature aging of the skin.
• Reduces pore size of skin, skin sebum production and so may reduce severity of acne outbreaks.
• Causes skin wounds to heal more quickly.
• May help to control appetite and thus reduce risk of obesity.
• A derivative of pantothenic acid is used in nasal sprays to help alleviate the symptoms of allergies such as hay fever.
• May help to reduce the severity of heartburn symptoms when combined with choline and thiamine.
• Assists in alcohol detoxification.
• May improve athletic performance.
• Reduces inflammation of joints and so may be beneficial for arthritis.
• Can help to reduce severity of asthma symptoms.
• May help to ease constipation by promoting regular bowel movements.
• Helps to maintain stable blood sugar levels.
• Can reduce incidence of depression.
• Promotes digestive health.
• May assist in the detoxification of environmental pollutants from the body.
• Acts as an anti-inflammatory agent.
• Needed for the production of bile.
• Important for promoting nervous system health.
• May help to protect against cataract formation.
• Helps the body to better absorb vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and vitamin C.
Vit-B5 Videos
How Much Vitamin B5 Do You Need?
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for pantothenic acid is 6mg, although it is not uncommon to find dosages of 500mg in supplements found in health food stores.
Where Do You Get It From?
The best sources of vitamin B5 are meats, vegetables and grains, although some vitamin B5 is found in virtually all foods.
What Causes A Deficiency?
Since vitamin B5 leaches out of vegetables into cooking water, then unless you use that water for a soup or sauce, you will lose it. Levels of vitamin B5 can also be reduced when meat is overcooked, or if you have wine or vinegar with your food.
As pantothenic acid is widely available in a variety of foods, a deficiency in this vitamin is very rare. There are also studies which suggest that vitamin B5 may be produced in the body by intestinal gut bacteria, although this has not yet been proven and accepted as a fact.
Individuals most at risk of suffering from a deficiency are alcoholics, those taking antibiotics, women taking contraceptive medication and people who eat lots of processed or heavily refined foods.
Signs Of Deficiency
Some of the main signs of a pantothenic acid deficiency are:
• Restlessness
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Burning feet
• Mood swings
• Hair loss
• Depression
Who Needs Pantothenic Acid Supplements?
Virtually nobody requires vitamin B5 supplements unless they are supplementing with B5 to gain specific health benefits.
Supplementing with extra vitamin B5 may be beneficial for those who are under stress or suffering from anxiety, as it helps to stimulate the body’s production of anti-stress hormones. Those who eat lots of processed foods and refined carbohydrates or lead a physically active life may also require extra.
Some sufferers of acne use vitamin B5 as an acne treatment to help control and reduce the severity of the outbreaks and skin eruptions that they experience.
This vitamin is considered to be very non-toxic, so most people should be able to take many more times the RDA without suffering from any adverse symptoms. Diarrhea has been reported in those taking over 10g a day.
Best Food Sources
The best foods to obtain vitamin B5 in your diet are:
• Calves’ liver
• Tofu
• Salmon
• Brewers yeast
• Beef
• Avocado
• Peanuts
