17 February 2023 • 12:18 by the editors
Also known as riboflavin, vitamin B2 is an important vitamin that also acts as an antioxidant in the body. Being a water soluble vitamin, like all B vitamins, vitamin B2 must be obtained through a healthy diet and supplemented often (ideally every day) to avoid a vitamin B2 deficiency.
All of the B vitamins are used to help you digest and get energy from the food you eat. They do this by converting nutrients from carbohydrates, fats and proteins into usable energy in the form of ATP. Therefore, vitamin B2 is necessary for the functioning of every cell in your body. A deficiency in vitamin B2, or a lack of riboflavin in your diet, can contribute to a number of serious side effects, including anemia, fatigue and a slow metabolism.
What is Vitamin B2?
But first: what does vitamin B2 do? Vitamin B2’s role includes maintaining healthy blood cells, boosting energy levels, promoting healthy metabolism, preventing free radical damage, contributing to growth, protecting the skin and eyes, and much more.
Vitamin B2 is used in combination with other B vitamins, which together form the ‘vitamin B complex’. In principle, B2 must be present in the body in large enough quantities for other B vitamins, including B6 and folic acid, to do their job properly.
All B vitamins have important functions, such as contributing to nerve, heart, blood, skin and eye health, reducing inflammation and supporting hormonal function. One of the most well-known functions of B vitamins is to maintain healthy metabolism and digestion.
Vitamin B2/Riboflavin has been shown to act as an antioxidant. It helps prevent lipid peroxidation and oxidative damage, both of which contribute to chronic health problems, such as cardiovascular and neurological diseases. Vitamin B2 also plays an important role in enzymatic reactions. There are two coenzyme forms of riboflavin: flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide.
Vitamin B2 helps prevent headaches
Vitamin B2 is a proven method of dealing with painful migraine headaches. Doctors usually prescribe riboflavin in high doses of 400 milligrams per day for at least three months as a preventive treatment for headaches or as a remedy for those who regularly get severe migraine attacks.
Riboflavin supplements, especially if you have a known vitamin B2 deficiency, have been shown to be a natural remedy for headaches and reduce the frequency of migraines. Supplementation can also help reduce symptoms and pain during a migraine, and shorten its duration. A type of combination product containing riboflavin, magnesium, and coenzyme Q10 is already being used to manage migraine symptoms.
Vitamin B2 keeps your eyes healthy
Studies show that a lack of riboflavin increases the risk of certain eye problems, including glaucoma. Glaucoma is the leading cause of vision loss or blindness. Vitamin B2 may help prevent eye conditions including cataracts, keratoconus and glaucoma. Research also shows a link between people who consume a lot of riboflavin and a reduced risk of eye disorders that can occur as a person ages.
To treat eye conditions, riboflavin drops are applied to the corneal surface of a patient suffering from glaucoma. This allows the vitamin to penetrate the cornea and increase corneal strength when used in conjunction with light therapy.
B2 helps prevent anemia
Anemia is caused by several factors, including reduced red cell production, the inability to carry oxygen to the blood, and blood loss. Is riboflavin good or bad for you if you suffer from anemia? Vitamin B2 is involved in all of these functions and helps prevent and treat cases of anemia.
Vitamin B2 is necessary for the synthesis of steroid hormones and the production of red blood cells. It also helps transport oxygen to the cells and helps mobilize iron. When people experience riboflavin deficiency without adequate vitamin B2 in their diets, they are more at risk of developing anemia and sickle cell anemia.
Low levels of vitamin B2 are correlated with both conditions involving an underutilization of oxygen and problems with red blood cell production. These conditions can lead to fatigue, shortness of breath, inability to exercise and more.
Research suggests that vitamin B2 is also effective in helping lower high levels of homocysteine in the blood. This condition occurs when a person is unable to convert the chemical homocysteine in the blood into amino acids that the body can use. Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) supplementation has been shown to help correct this condition and balance homocysteine levels.
Vitamin B2 gives you energy
Riboflavin is considered a vital component of mitochondrial energy. Vitamin B2 is used by the body to metabolize food for energy and to maintain proper brain, nerve, digestive and hormone function. Therefore, riboflavin is very important for growth and body repair. Without high enough levels of riboflavin, a riboflavin deficiency develops, and the molecules in carbohydrate, fat, and protein foods cannot be properly digested and used as fuel that keeps the body running.
Vitamin B2 is needed to break down proteins into amino acids, fats and carbohydrates in the form of glucose. This helps convert nutrients from food into usable physical energy that helps maintain a healthy metabolism.
Riboflavin is also needed to regulate proper thyroid activity and adrenal function. A riboflavin deficiency can increase the risk of thyroid disease. It is also helpful in calming the nervous system, combating chronic stress, and regulating hormones that regulate appetite, energy, mood, temperature, and more.
Vitamin B2 for healthy hair
Vitamin B2 riboflavin plays a role in maintaining collagen levels, which make up healthy skin and hair. Collagen is necessary to maintain the youthful structure of the skin and prevent fine lines and wrinkles. A lack of riboflavin can make us look aged faster. Some research suggests that riboflavin may shorten the time it takes for wound healing, reduce skin inflammation and chapped lips, and help slow signs of aging naturally.
Bottom Line: Riboflavin deserves your attention
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, vitamin B2 foods have been considered essential for centuries for managing stress and helping your body use other nutrients, including folic acid and vitamin B12.
To keep red blood cell levels healthy, prevent fatigue, and support metabolism, consider consuming balanced B2 foods more often, such as meat, organ meats, eggs, soybeans, spinach, beet greens, broccoli, shiitake mushrooms and tempeh. And let’s be honest, delicious dishes can also be made from it.