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• $72 for 8 B12 injections ($240 value)
• $118.99 for 16 B12 injections ($480 value)

Vitamin B12: From Healing Dogs to Boosting Humans’ Moods

To learn more about what vitamin B12 does for the body, pop a bit of knowledge with Groupon’s introduction.

Vitamin B12 is considered an essential vitamin for a reason: it keeps nerve and blood cells healthy, supports the creation of DNA and RNA, and works with other B vitamins to support one’s mood. It’s also been used to treat maladies from heart disease to breast cancer to fatigue.

Most people already consume appropriate amounts of vitamin B12, although deficiency can occur in the elderly and those with dietary restrictions.

At least partial credit for the discovery of B12 goes to the dogs. It was while studying dogs that researcher George Whipple noted that consuming liver helped relieve the symptoms of anemia. Fellow scientists set out to isolate which of liver’s components could be used to treat human patients, and nearly 20 years later, vitamin B12 was identified. Fortunately for the squeamish, eating liver isn’t the only way to ensure B12 levels stay sufficient: The vitamin is commonly found in foods such as fish, meat, eggs, and dairy, and it can be taken in pill form or via injection.