NOW Foods Vitamin B-12 Liquid Complex

Vitamin B-12 (Cyanocobalamin) is a water soluble vitamin necessary for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system and for the metabolic utilization of fats and proteins. Vitamin B-12 is also essential for the synthesis of DNA during cell division and therefore is especially important for rapidly multiplying cells, such as blood cells. In addition, adequate intake of Vitamin B-12, along with Folic Acid and Vitamin B-6, encourages healthy serum homocysteine levels, thereby supporting cardiovascular health. Because Vitamin B-12 is found predominantly in animal products, strict vegetarians are at risk of developing Vitamin B-12 deficiency and may benefit from supplementation. NOW Vitamin B-12 is vegetarian/vegan (non-animal derived).

• Nervous System Health
• B-Complex
• Essential For DNA Synthesis
• Improved Flavor!!
• Vegetarian Formula

Why do some B vitamin supplements from NOW have an odor? Is this normal?
B vitamins by nature do not have a pleasant aroma. This is normal and does not indicate the product is expired or otherwise compromised. The expiration date of any NOW supplement is printed on the bottom of the bottle. Sometimes you may get B vitamin powder residue on the capsules, usually yellow in color. Again, this is a normal occurrence. There is often a small amount of powder that escapes during the encapsulation process, and it sometimes coats the outside of the capsules.

I noticed that your Coenzyme B-complex is enteric coated. Does this mean it's considered slow release?
The enteric coating does slow the release of the nutrients somewhat by allowing them to pass through the stomach intact but no this does not create a time release product. It is tested to readily disintegrate in simulated intestinal conditions.

Why is the methylcobalamin form of Vitamin B-12 found in your Brain B-12 and other products a better form overall than regular B-12? Also, is it safe and where does it come from?
Most B vitamins function in the body only in their coenzyme (or active) forms, and the regular forms as found in our B-12 or certain B-complex products have to be converted into the coenzyme forms before they can do their job. These coenzyme forms, though, are usually much more expensive and are considered more potent than standard vitamin forms. Methylcobalamin is one of these coenzyme forms. It is derived via microbial fermentation, and since it is water soluble has a large safety margin.

NOW's Mission
The NOW mission is - To provide value in products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives. NOW Foods is an award-winning and highly respected manufacturer of vitamins, minerals, dietary supplements and natural foods.

In 1948, with the natural food and supplement industry in its infancy, entrepreneur Paul Richard paid $900 for the purchase of Fearn Soya Foods—a Chicago based manufacturer of grain and legume-based products. This began a six-decade legacy of providing health-seeking consumers with high-quality, affordable nutrition products.

History of NOW
In 1968, NOW Foods was founded under the belief that good health was not a luxury available only to the wealthy. For the past forty years, NOW has made it their life's work to offer health food and nutritional supplements of the highest quality, at prices that are fair and affordable to all those who seek them. Today, NOW Foods is one of the top-selling brands in health foods stores, an award-winning manufacturer, a respected advocate of the natural product industry, and a leader in the fields of nutritional science and methods development. And while NOW has grown considerably over the past four decades, one thing has never changed – NOW's commitment to providing products and services that empower people to lead healthier lives.

NOW Commitments

• Customer Focused and Information Driven - NOW believes that their products, services, and the decisions they make should be primarily influenced by the desires and needs of NOW customers. The decisions that NOW makes should be based on accurate information and therefore NOW places a high value on knowledge and learning within their organization.
• Quality and Value Oriented - Acting in the best interest of NOW customers, NOW endeavors to produce the highest quality products at competitive prices. NOW's first priority is to maintain quality where it counts the most – in the products. NOW's exceptional cost-conscious team of employees then focuses their energies on driving costs down. Nurturing this competency of value drives NOW's ability to provide high quality products at the very best prices.
• Natural is Better - NOW is convinced that natural products are better than their synthetic counterparts and produce better results in human health. Therefore, wherever possible, NOW strives to provide products that contain natural ingredients because they are better for their customers.

NOW Science
NOW's experienced professional and technical staff formulates their products to be of the highest quality. NOW has a group of biochemists, chemists, nutritionists, and food technologists who review current science and nutritional parameters, and formulate our products to be effective for the intended use. NOW's structure/function claims are based on science for active ingredients, and on nutritional science for nutritional content. Serving sizes are based on doses from clinical studies and other published data. NOW's contemporary formulas are designed to meet the health and wellness needs of today’s consumers. NOW uses ingredients that have been tested for effectiveness in clinical trials and laboratory studies. The heart of NOW science is third party independent research. NOW investigates and review clinical studies and other lab studies conducted on their ingredients and their formulas. Best science is used to support best formulations which lead to best quality. NOW products are constantly being tested in clinical trials conducted at top universities and research centers around the country and in various parts of the world. NOW products are being tested to determine such things as effectiveness for joint support, quality of life for cancer patients, cardiovascular support, and athletic endurance. Effective products mean health and wellness benefits, which mean quality.

GMP Quality Assured
NOW’s GMP certification covers standard operating procedures, employee training, product specifications, expiration dating, vendor certifications and much more. Standard operating procedures include sampling and testing incoming materials according to NOW Foods specifications, inspecting manufacturing processes, and testing finished products to specifications. Tests include organoleptic evaluation (human senses such as sight, taste, smell), physical testing of tablets and capsules, chemical identity of ingredients, potency and contamination testing by the company’s in-house state-of-the-art analytical testing lab, as well as microbiological testing by NOW Foods’ in-house rapid analysis microbiological lab.