This one looks good except the last ingredient. For once I'm confused. Intrustic factor? 
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Vitamin B Complex
- Thread starter Jazzmin
- Start Date
INTRINSIC FACTOR from Porcine Pyloric Mucous Lining. Sounds yummy.
Don't know without some research, but how much "chemistry" do these companies think we need to ingest just to stay alive and healthy?
Looks like intrinsic factor is for people who can't absorb Vitamin B-12 to be able to absorb it.
Intrinsic Factor Supplement Side Effects
Intrinsic Factor Supplement Side Effects
That's a shame. They have an "almost perfect" B-Complex that only has the 8 true B-Vitamins, and then they ruin it by adding something where there is no daily requirement.
Exactly and that's what i see over and over.
Someone was asking about Alnutrin on another thread today, and I noticed that Alnutrin only supplements Vitamins B1 and B12. If every B-Complex manufacturer insists on adding "extras" I don't want, I may end up going with Mschauer's suggestion of just buying the supplements I want/need. More research...but that is workable if only 2 of the 8 B's are actually needed.
As long as Central Market and Nature's Way leaves out the PABA, I'll stick with them.
Jazzmin
- I hope we aren't hijacking your thread and getting too far out in the weeds for you. You started a very interesting topic about B-Complex, worthy of discussion.
As long as Central Market and Nature's Way leaves out the PABA, I'll stick with them.
Jazzmin
- I hope we aren't hijacking your thread and getting too far out in the weeds for you. You started a very interesting topic about B-Complex, worthy of discussion.
PABA, choline and inositol are all naturally occurring nutrients found in plants and animals. Well I'm not sure inositol can technically be called a nutrient but it is found in the tissues of the animals we use in our home-made foods.
As far as I can tell PABA has only been banned for use in cosmetics and sunscreens because when used as a topical it has been shown to cause allergic reactions in some people.
Here is an ingestible NOW PABA product for sale in Canada:
PABA 500 mg with Vitamin C Veg Capsules
And here is link for obtaining an ingestible PABA product in England:
Swanson Paba | 500mg, 120 Capsules - £9.10
Choline has been shown to help in preventing fatty liver in cats. It is found in the animal tissues we use in our home-made foods and also in eggs. A diet deficient in choline fed to kittens has resulted in decreased food intake and body weight. The AAFCO specifies a minimum amount of choline that should be present in body adult and kitten foods. I'm very happy to see choline in a B-Complex product because I know it will help in meeting the minimum needed for a nutritionally complete diet.
I still haven't found anything that causes me to be concerned about PABA, choline or inositol in B-Complex products. Of course you are welcome to avoid them if you want to but to keep insinuating that products containing them they are harmful to cats is very misleading.
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Alnutrin also contains egg yolk powder. A significant source of choline.
Yes, it does. Egg yolk powder is at least a whole food source, not some laboratory-extracted rendition of choline as is in the B-Complex vitamins.
Since I add fresh egg yolks to my mixes as a natural supplement, I'd rather not have extra of the "lab version" in the B-Complex, but that is a compromise I'm having to make. Anyway, as noted, the choline is at least water soluble and excess shouldn't build up in the cat's organs.
I completely agree that it's better to obtain as many nutrients as possible from whole food ingredients.
My point was that there is no reason to use the inclusion of choline as a reason why a particular B-Complex is unsuitable for a cat. If you personally don't want to use such a product that is perfectly fine. But other people shouldn't be lead to believe such a product is harmful.
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I didn't say that choline is harmful. I said it's unnecessary, and I'd rather not have it in the supplement. The supplement I am using has choline and inositol...I'd prefer not to have those. If I thought those two were harmful, I would stop using the supplement.
The only ingredient I have expressed concern over as being harmful is the PABA.
The only ingredient I have expressed concern over as being harmful is the PABA.
I stand corrected.
All the talk about avoiding ingredients that are common to B-Complex products makes me concerned that people looking for a B-Complex will think it is a more complex task than it really is. Leading them to believe they have to find one that doesn't contain PABA, choline or inositol just makes the task unnecessarily complicated.
All the talk about avoiding ingredients that are common to B-Complex products makes me concerned that people looking for a B-Complex will think it is a more complex task than it really is. Leading them to believe they have to find one that doesn't contain PABA, choline or inositol just makes the task unnecessarily complicated.
There are plenty of links throughout this discussion, plus more information online for people who do their own research, for people to weigh the pros and cons of ingredients in different brands of B-Complex.
I trust and credit the intelligence of the majority of members here at TCS to be able to read through said pros and cons and not feel that the discussion is overwhelmingly "complex"...haha, get it?...B-Complex "complex".
Ok so some background on Paba.
What Is PABA in Sunscreen? | LIVESTRONG.COM
As far as dangers of Paba for your cat. I'm just going to go with both of these.
Homemade Cat Food, A Balancing Act - Feline Nutrition
Since paba can build up in their system and isn't necessary best to do what you can to avoid it.
Choline I'm not worried about at 10 mg. It's the dangers in concerned with choline isn't a danger.
Inositol I'm still researching.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/stor...ja&s=7c66e458db8a74945e3a011a1a2b0af6eee0d62f
I'm trying to stay on the conservative side.
What Is PABA in Sunscreen? | LIVESTRONG.COM
As far as dangers of Paba for your cat. I'm just going to go with both of these.
Homemade Cat Food, A Balancing Act - Feline Nutrition
Since paba can build up in their system and isn't necessary best to do what you can to avoid it.
Choline I'm not worried about at 10 mg. It's the dangers in concerned with choline isn't a danger.
Inositol I'm still researching.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/stor...ja&s=7c66e458db8a74945e3a011a1a2b0af6eee0d62f
I'm trying to stay on the conservative side.
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"One of the more dangerous components of sunscreen is PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid). Ingestion of PABA can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, bone marrow changes and liver damage."
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the three hours of research I did on it. That plus kidney accumulation. Then finding links between PABA and thyroid malfunction in addition to everything else, I'll stick with the PABA-free B-Complex I'm using.
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the three hours of research I did on it. That plus kidney accumulation. Then finding links between PABA and thyroid malfunction in addition to everything else, I'll stick with the PABA-free B-Complex I'm using.
Those links are talking about the ingestion of sunscreen. I'm pretty certain if ingestion of a B-Complex containing PABA causes vomiting, diarrhea, bone marrow changes and liver damage someone would have noticed. 
Sunscreen containing PABA. The rest of the article is also straightforward (to me anyway). If I shouldn't put PABA on my cat's skin, I'd rather not intentionally put it inside my cat.
I was using a vet link. In reality if a study hasn't been done I'm going to go with the possibly it can hurt my cat. I'm also going by the site i follow.
Taking the Complexity Out of B Vitamins - Feline Nutrition
Unfortunately if we want the exact time frame and amount of paba can hurt a cat then it's animal testing. I prefer the simple route. While I don't think 20 mg is going to hurt my cat in 6 lbs of raw food I'm going to pass on anything higher. There's no minimum listed for a cat and it's not recommended so until i find a substitute I'll use Now but it will be replaced.
While I personally feel a small amount won't hurt the cat I'm not going to try to find out the threshold.
Taking the Complexity Out of B Vitamins - Feline Nutrition
Unfortunately if we want the exact time frame and amount of paba can hurt a cat then it's animal testing. I prefer the simple route. While I don't think 20 mg is going to hurt my cat in 6 lbs of raw food I'm going to pass on anything higher. There's no minimum listed for a cat and it's not recommended so until i find a substitute I'll use Now but it will be replaced.
While I personally feel a small amount won't hurt the cat I'm not going to try to find out the threshold.
I think that is a sensible response to the available information. I still have no concern about the b complex product I use but others can decide for themselves.
I appreciate this thread being posted though. We assumed complexes were being made equally but I'm even seeing one with 100% of each one.
So here comes a good question. Biotin, I've seen it at 100 and as much as 1,000. How much do we want to keep it around.
So here comes a good question. Biotin, I've seen it at 100 and as much as 1,000. How much do we want to keep it around.
