It seems that no matter how much accessible education there is on vitamins and deficiencies, still so many of us are left in the dark. This is in part due to the fact that our bodies are so radically different when it comes to what they need. Thus, routine bloodwork and/or meeting with a nutritionist are by far the most effective ways to discover what you personally should use to supplement. With this in mind, let’s discuss how nearly 15% of the world’s population are deficient in one or more forms of vitamin B. I was once there, and didn’t know it: with symptoms like major fatigue, anemia, chronic inflammation, anxiety or depressive spells, cognitive fogginess, the list literally drags on. At one point, going to the health food store and browsing the vitamins & supplements was my sweet escape; spending exorbitant amounts of money on new products with the desperate belief that they would improve my life. If this is your experience thus far, it’s O.K. but you should know that at the end of this rainbow awaits a pot of (honey) gold.

A standard encapsulated B-vitamin won’t do the trick for those of us who have difficulty with nutrient absorption. If you’re curious about absorption, basically our bodies have to prepare to digest and metabolize through a process called methylation. Around 30% of us have a MTHFR mutation, that makes the methylating process very hard, or impossible—and without this process, nutrients enter our systems inactive, or useless. For my vegans, my favourite methylated B complex capsule is by Sakara. Frankly, I get bored of swallowing pills, and I prefer to get my vitamins and minerals from the foods I eat. Which is why I rely on natural bee honey products for my vitamin B intake. Raw bee products contain considerable amounts of B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin) and B9 (folate). 

Try this homemade honey face masque for supple skin:

• 1 tablespoon Activist Mānuka
• 1 teaspoon jojoba oil
•  1 teaspoon matcha powder