Vitamin B5 - Panthotenic Acid

Pantothenic acid (also known as vitamin B5) is a vitamin that is a member of B Complex vitamins. It aids your body in turning carbs into glucose, which is eventually burned by your body in order to obtain energy. Besides this, pantothenic acid is very important in producing red blood cells together with stress and sex linked hormones that are manufactured in your adrenal glands. A lot of specialists will tell you that vitamin B5 is a vitamin that works well for people under stress and the immune system is also improved. As an immediate result your body is more capable to resist when under stressful conditions. The real good news associated with pantothenic acid is the fact that you will find it in almost all cells and deficiency is very rare because you will find it in a lot of foods. On the other hand, there are some symptoms that are signs of vitamin B5 deficiency. This includes burning feet, irritability, depression, stomach pains, fatigue, insomnia, vomiting or infections visible in the upper respiratory system.

Pantothenic acid is mostly used in order to deal with burns, high cholesterol, wound healing and arthritis. It has been proven that vitamin B5 supplements can speed your wound healing process, especially if you recently went through surgery. In most cases your doctor will combine vitamin C with B5 in order to gain the best possible results.

If you recently suffered from burns you will want to make sure that your diet is very good in order to recuperate as fast as possible. Micronutrients are lost whenever people get burned and the infection risk is much higher, not to mention having to deal with a much longer healing process than normal. There have been a lot of studies that show B vitamins aid a lot in case you have suffered from serious burns so you should really consider this.

When dealing with high cholesterol the benefits of pantethine (a form of Pantothenic Acid) are documented. This form of B5 can improve triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Although more research is needed at the moment in order to make sure that pantethine is really working, proof does exist and in some cases the doctor will use it as treatment.

When talking about arthritis we are dealing with a topic that is not very well studies. On the other hand, pantothenic acid included in your diet may aid in the event that adequate quantities are included. It seems that people that suffer from rheumatoid arthritis show low vitamin B5 levels. This brings in a logical conclusion that you have to lower pantothenic acid levels in your body.

The problem with pantothenic acid is the fact that during processing a lot of it is lost. This basically means that you should eat unprocessed foods. The best possible sources of this vitamin are corn, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, brewer’s yeast, lentils, beef, duck, turkey, chicken, split peas, milk, sweet potatoes, soybeans, sunflower seeds, sweet potatoes, wheat germ, lobster and salmon. In the event that you are faced with a diet that is problematic you might want to consider a good vitamin supplements that contains all B complex vitamins. This is because all B vitamins are very important for your body. On the other hand, if you only have problems with pantothenic acid you can buy special supplements that are based on this nutrient.

As a final thought remember that supplements are aimed to complete your diet. Pantothenic acid is widely distributed in foods and it is very rare that you will be faced with deficiencies. We recommend a good multivitamin supplement as it should be more than enough for most individuals out there when dealing with meeting vitamin B5 needs.