A note from Mark Lester, Director of The Finchley Clinic Ltd
Vitamin B12 + B6 + Folic Acid, is arguably the most important nutritional anti aging and life extending combination there is, as you will see if you continue reading.*
* Some of our other products which could be considered to be anti-aging include any of the liquid oxygen products, and antioxidant products such as Megahydrate, Vitamin C and Antioxidant Supreme.
What Unique B12 Does
Unique B12 provides an infusion of B vitamins directly into the bloodstream. These vitamins nutritionally support healthy nervous system and cardiovascular function.
Why Sublingual -12? Is Unique B12 genuinely unique?
Yes, because it's much better absorbed sublingually, especially if the B12 content is in the form of Methylcobalamin in Unique B12.
Methylcobalamin B-12 is Sublingual Methylcobalamin B12 with Vitamin B6 and Folic Acid. Your ability to absorb B12 declines drastically with age. UNIQUE B-12 (sublingual B12, B6, Folic acid and Biotin) was created to bypass the digestive system to provide an infusion of B vitamins directly into the bloodstream.
Unique B-12 is specially formulated with methylcobalamin Vitamin B-12. Methylcobalamin is a form of vitamin B12 that is active in the central nervous system. The liver does not easily convert the cyanocobalamin form of vitamin B12 into adequate amounts of methylcobalamin - the active form. This pre-existing tendency can get worse as we age. The solution is to take vitamin B-12 (in the methylcobalamin form) beneath the tongue every day.
Why added Vitamin B6 and Folic acid?
Vitamin B6 and Folic Acid work synergistically with Vitamin B-12 in lowering serum homocysteine levels and nutritionally supporting a healthy nervous system and cardiovascular function.
High homocysteine levels have been shown to be an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, or vascular disease. When there is too much homocysteine in the blood, arteries can become damaged and plaque can form. The result can be arteriosclerosis and heart disease if we don’t receive enough of certain vitamins such as B6, B12, and Folic acid. These B vitamins are often missing from our diets because artificially processing and refining natural foods destroys these vital nutrients.
Why does this product not contain tri-methyle glycine (TMG)found in most similar products?
We deliberately searched for a brand that did not contain this compound, but we found that all UK manufactured products contained it. TMG has been shown to help reduce homocysteine, but it may also lower folic acid absorbtion in some people, which makes it somewhat counter productive. We have also beleive that quite a lot of people are allergic to TMG. For this reason we regard it as a potentially counter productive ingredient and searched far and wide to find a product that : -
i) Did not contain TMG
and
ii) Where the B12 was sourced from Methylcobalamin because it is better absorbed than regular B12.
Possible Benefits of Methylcobalamin B-12
- May support a healthy nervous system.
- May lift mood
- May improve mental clarity
- May support emotional balance
- May support healthy cardiovascular function.
- May reduce homocysteine
- May increase stamina
- May cut risk of heart disease
- May be useful for those with poor food absorbtion, (especially with older people).
- May be useful for vegetarians and vegans, who are more susceptible to deficiency (B12 is virtually absent from vegan foods).
Vitamin B12 and depression
Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins, especially folic acid (folate), play a role in the production of certain neurotransmitters, which are important in regulating mood and other brain functions. Some cases of depression have been associated with Vitamin B12 deficiency (usually alongside folic acid deficiency). When the deficiency has been corrected, the depression has got better. Researchers have also found that people with depression are more likely to have high levels of homocysteine which the Vitamin B12 and the folic acid in Unique B12 helps to control.
The evidence:
1. Fava M, Borus JS, Alpert JE, Nierenberg AA, Rosenbaum JF, Bottiglieri T. Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in major depressive disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1997 Mar;154(3):426-8.
2. Morris MS, Fava M, Jacques PF, Selhub J, Rosenberg IH. Depression and folate status in the US Population. Psychother Psychosom. 2003 Mar-Apr;72(2):59-60.
Usage
As a dietary supplement, let 1 tablet dissolve under the tongue in the morning or in the evening. For additional B12 support, take 2 tablets per day.
Testimonials
(Please note, the following reports are anecdotal. Individual results may vary).
Unique B12 has increased my energy level!
Aurea J. Age: 58
Unique B-12 is working great, perhaps better than the variety you find in the mall vitamin stores.
Merlin E. Age: 63
My Homocysteine level tested 14.8 (normal range 3.3-11.4) last November and I was having some nuerological symptoms. I started taking Unique B-12 sublingual nightly and about 4 months later my Homocysteine level has gone down to around 9. I do not tire as easily and I have less neurological symptoms. My worry about heart attack and stroke threat was also relieved.
Julia K. Age: 74
I suffered from back pain and sciatica for several months. Then my doctor put me on Unique B12. I’ve been taking it now for several months and am no longer bothered with back pain and sciatica, thanks to Unique B-12.
Henry H. Age: 69
I am a registered nurse and work long hours and different shifts. My energy level was low and my stamina had reached a point where I could not work a full shift without being so tired when I got home I would set down to rest and fall asleep. Then I started taking Unique B12 and within 3-4 weeks my energy level and stamina have greatly increased.
Barbara J. Age: 49
I heard about Unique B12 from a friend. I bought some and once I started taking it my energy level and mental clarity has improved 100 %.
Maria S. Age: 69
Other ingredients: Mannitol, sorbitol, natural cherry flavor, cellulose, vegetable stearic acid, L-ascorbic acid, vegetable magnesium stearate, silica.
Net Content
90 Vegetarian Tablets
Part II: Homocysteine
Homocysteine is a subject we are going to be hearing a lot more about over the next few years. We predict (in 2007) that within 10 years, we will be discussing this far more than our cholesterol levels. It is a type of protein, produced by the body and found in the blood that, ideally, should be present in very low quantities. Vitamin B6, B12 and Folic acid have been shown to help to keep it under low. High levels of homocysteine has been shown to be associated with an increased risk for over 50 diseases, including heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, depression and Alzheimer's disease.
The evidence:
Heart Attacks and Strokes
The largest review of 92 studies, by David Wald and colleagues from the Department of Cardiology at Southampton General Hospital, recently published in the British Medical Journal, examined the association between homocysteine and risk of cardiovascular disease in 20,000 people.
They found that, with every five unit increase in homocysteine measured in the blood, the risk of heart disease went up 42% in those with the MTHFR gene mutation and 32% in those without. The risk for strokes went up 65% in those with the genetic mutation and 59% for those without. The researchers concluded that these "highly significant results indicate strong evidence that the association between homocysteine and cardiovascular disease is causal".
(Source: Wald DS and Morris JK. Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease: evidence on causality from a meta-analysis. BMJ. 325: 1202. 2002.)
This means that having a high homocysteine level isn't just associated with higher risk, it actually causes heart disease – a conclusion that is also being reached by other research groups.
(Source: Clerk M et al. 'MTHFR 677C>T Polymorphism and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease'. JAMA. Vol. 288(16): 2023-2031. 2002.)
This means that if you can lower your homocysteine level (your H score) you remove a key cause, and hence diminish the risk.
While the average homocysteine level is around 10 units, an ideal level is below six units. Those with a history of cardiovascular disease often have a level above 15 units. According to this study, this means that lowering a high homocysteine from 16 to six units – a 10 point drop – could cut risk significantly! This is not only much more substantial a reduction than cholesterol, it's also more achievable. How? With nutrients, not drugs.
Alzheimer's – Halve Your Risk
The evidence indicates that if you can lower your H score, you will significantly lower your risk of getting Alzheimer's. Homocysteine is strongly linked to damage in the brain. Dr Matsu Toshifumi and colleagues at Tohoku University, Japan, conducted brain scans on 153 elderly people and checked them against each individual's homocysteine level. The evidence was crystal clear – the higher the homocysteine, the greater the damage to the brain.[4]
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine charted the health of 1,092 elderly people without dementia, measuring their homocysteine levels. Within the next eight years, 111 were diagnosed with dementia. Eighty-three of this group were diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Those with high blood homocysteine levels (in this study, above 14 units) had nearly double the risk of Alzheimer's. All this strongly suggests that following a homocysteine lowering regime should significantly decrease your risk of developing Alzheimer's in later years.
Source: Seshadri S et al. 'Plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease'. New England Journal of Medicine. 346(7): 476-483. 2002.
Halve Your Risk of Death from All Causes
Extraordinary findings from a comprehensive research study at the University of Bergen in Norway were published in 2001 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.6 They measured the homocysteine levels of 4,766 men and women aged 65 to 67 back in 1992, and then recorded any deaths over the next five years, during which 162 men and 97 women died. They then looked at the risk of death in relation to their homocysteine levels. Remarkably, they not only reconfirmed the relationship between heart attacks, strokes and high homocysteine, but also found that "a strong relation was found between homocysteine and all causes of mortality". In other words, homocysteine is an accurate predictor of how long you are going to live, whatever the eventual cause of death may be!
With every five-point increase in H score, researchers found:
• 49% increased deaths from all causes
• 50% increase in cardiovascular mortality
Source: Vollset SE et al. 'Plasma total homocysteine and cardiovascular and noncardiovascular mortality: the Hordaland Homocsyteine Study'. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 74(1): 130-136. 2001.
The good news:
The good news is that this new and important risk factor can be reversed in weeks.
One study found that H scores reduced by 17% on high dose folic acid alone and 19% by B12 alone, but by 60% with folic acid, B12 and B6. All this was achieved in three weeks!
(Source: Koyama K et al. 'Efficacy of methylcobalamin on lowering total homocysteine plasma concentrations in haemodialysis patients receiving high-dose folate supplementation'. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 17: 916-22. 2002).
Part III: Benefits of Folic acid, B6 and Biotin supplementation
Folic acid is also known as Vitamin B9. Essential for the manufacture and maintenance of new cells, folic acid is recommended during the early stages of pregnancy. It is necessary for the normal structure of the neural tube in developing embryos, thus reducing the chances of neural tube defects such as spina bifida. Folic acid helps to manufacture red blood cells, which in turn supply the body with oxygen.
Vitamin B6's main claim to fame (apart from helping to lower homocysteine) lies in it's being reported to help women reduce the symptoms of PMS and PMT. It also is involved with helping the abosbtion of zinc, which in turn is involved with hundreds of reactions in the body. It has been suggested that one of the main causes of zinc deficiency is a deficiency of Vitamin B6.
Biotin is also known as Vitamin B7 and helps with the absorbtion of other B vitamins. Biotin is also needed for the normal growth and development of skin and hair and the maintenance of a healthy nervous system | 
