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What is Riboflavin Good for?
Riboflavin is an essential nutrient best known as vitamin B2. Metabolites of this vitamin is found in many chemical reactions and utilized by several enzymes. While its presence inside the body is absolutely necessary, it is also excreted on a regular basis. Diet and supplementation are capable of replenishing the vitamin B2 stores of the body and avoiding the health perils tied to vitamin deficiency.
Like other vitamins that make up B complex, riboflavin is soluble in water. This means it is relatively easier to absorb than vitamins that are soluble in fats. Since it is expelled from the system rather than stored, deficiency is quite common. That being said, supplementation readily reverses deficiency.
Enhances Energy Production
Vitamin B2 is listed as an active ingredient in sports drink and energy boosters. It is utilized in the fortification of almost all processed foods today. Every molecule of riboflavin that enters the systemic circulation participates in a wide array of metabolic processes that significantly contributes to energy production. Not surprisingly, its absence in the diet has been noted to result in weakness.
The nucleic acid derivative of riboflavin is the primary constituent of a class of proteins called flavoproteins, which are involved in electron transfer chain. These proteins affect how cells metabolize bioactive compounds, such as glucose and oxygen. Their availability in tissues raises the efficiency of cells in connection with energy production, which ultimately leads to higher levels of energy output.
Promotes Cellular Longevity
Riboflavin is one of the vitamins that are very pervasive at the cellular level. Apart from the fact that it is an active participant of energy production, it is also directly involved in the removal of reactive oxygen species, which are natural by-products of cellular respiration. Reactive oxygen species, such as free radicals and peroxides, bring on a chain of cellular damage in a process called oxidative stress.
As aerobic metabolism fuels every physiological activity, it also damages cellular organelles with oxidative stress. Vitamin B2 keeps reactive oxygen species in check and promotes cellular longevity. Metabolites of vitamin B2 help strengthen the antioxidant defense not only of cells but of the entire human body as it is central to the reduction of the oxidized form of glutathione to its reduced form.
Activates Other Nutrients
Vitamin B2 is a constituent of enzymes and chemicals that process components of the human diet into compounds that the body can utilize, such as vitamin A, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, and vitamin B9, among others, the reason why deficiency in vitamin B2 is often accompanied by deficiencies in other vitamins. In fact, depleting levels of vitamin B2 has long been tied to malnutrition.
Riboflavin is a nutrient that must be obtained from the diet at all times to support normal body functions and avoid medical conditions that have been associated with vitamin B2 deficiency. Supplementation of vitamin B2 is another way to meet the recommended daily value for this vitamin.
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