Margaret Thatcher may not be your favourite person. But, love her or hate her, the Iron Lady has stamina. She famously slept just four hours a night during her Downing Street reign. Forever hurrying across the world stage, she rarely stood still. So where did all that energy come from? Regular injections of vitamin B12. In the Prime Ministerial posterior. This revelation was made recently by Lady Thatcher’s former aide, Cynthia Crawford, who performed the delicate task.
“B12 injections have been used for a long time by politicians and people in the entertainment industry,” says Dr Steve Hajioff, the medical director of alive + well, a private holistic clinic in London. Celebrities as diverse as Nigel Havers, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and the artist formerly known as Prince have sworn by them. “Sometimes the show really must go on,” says Dr Hajioff. “Performers use B12 jabs to get them through. They’re a healthy alternative to alcohol and drugs.”
The shot contains a whopping 500 times the recommended daily dose of the vitamin (found in meat, fish, eggs and milk), which is needed for the formation of red blood cells and healthy nervous and cardiovascular systems.
An increasing number of busy young professionals are self-medicating with this so-called “energy vitamin”. Most of Dr Hajioff’s patients visit his practice in Covent Garden. Some are so busy that they stage B12 mini- parties at work. “I am now seeing lawyers and City workers, basically people under pressure,” he says. “Most of them are in their late twenties or early thirties and in highly-paid deadline-driven jobs. Not being busy just is not an option for them.”
So much for slow — this is all about going faster. And that’s exactly what Ruthe Waineman wants. “I don’t stop during the day and often work evenings,” says Waineman, 32, a media consultant and single mother. “I was feeling run-down and needed a boost. I heard about B12 from a client and even though I hate needles I gave it a go.” That was April. She has had three jabs since.
“My energy levels surged. I am still woken at night by my daughter but I don’t feel knackered in the morning. I concentrate better, which makes me feel more confident.” Waineman also suffers from endometriosis, a painful disease of the uterus, and claims that B12 has eased her menstrual cycle. She gets jabbed wherever she’s working. “My colleagues at This Morning television programme heard me going on about it and saw the difference so they ’re trying it, too.”
In need of a boost, I join them. Helen Grainger, 30, is a producer and James McAllister, 27, is an assistant producer. They’re so busy pulling the television show together that they can barely find time to drop their pants and be injected. Grainger is nervous of needles. “I got it in my bum because that’s less painful than the arm. But it left a bruise,” she says. Like a man, McAllister took his in the arm. I took the back road. “We use very fine, very small needles,” says Dr Hajioff. The B12 — known scientifically as hydroxocobalamin — is dark red. It takes a few seconds to inject one milligram.
A week later we all reported the same outcomes: increased energy levels, better sleep and a feeling of sharpness.
“I felt much more aware,” says McAllister. “I am not bouncing around with energy, but for the first time I feel like a morning person. I don’t know if the benefits are psychological or physical, but I feel better.”
“I am not a big drinker,” says Grainger. “But I usually get bad hangovers.” Not with the B12. “There was a hangover somewhere inside me but it wasn’t on the surface so I was able to get on with everything. I’d definitely do it again, but only as a short-term solution during a very busy time. I don’t want to get hooked.”
But vitamin B12 is not addictive, says Dr Hajioff. And there is no evidence to suggest that you can overdose on it. Equally, there is no medical proof for any of the claims made by Waineman, Grainger, McAllister or me.
“I think B12 injections sound slightly cranky,” says Dr Juliet Gray, an independent consultant nutritionist and a former science director of the British Nutrition Foundation. “If you feel better afterwards, it could be a placebo effect. But there’s no evidence.”
Yet I have no doubt that it worked. At a personal training session the next day I pushed harder than ever. I then spent a few hours and much cash in a bar with friends. I slept well that night and felt no pain the next day. A week later I am still feeling the benefits.
“We don't know why it makes people feel so good,” says Dr Hajioff. “But 70 per cent of patients report positive results. And I’ve never heard of any side-effects. I would love there to be more research.”
What we do know is that to obtain B12 naturally it’s best to eat animal products — meat and dairy — as they are richer in it than vegetables. Vegetarians and vegans should consider B12 supplements. “Everyone else should get enough through their diet or a daily multivitamin tablet,” says Dr Gray.
A consultation, injection and follow-up from Dr Hajioff costs about £60. This could, literally, be money down the drain. Our bodies are very good at eliminating excess B vitamins in urine.
As a nation we’re getting up earlier and going to bed later but somehow there still aren’t enough hours in the day. We’re all running around like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. So shouldn’t we slow down? “As a doctor it is very easy to advise someone with a high-pressure job and busy lifestyle to take some rest,” says Dr Hajioff. “But that’s not always possible. So I help people to get what they want from their bodies. However, if after three injections a patient still feels fatigue, we must investigate and look for possible causes. B12 injections should be only a short-term solution.”
They worked for Maggie. And for me. They might work for you. Drop your trousers and see.
Vitamin booster
What’s in it? Each injection contains 1mg of B12, 500 times the Food Standards Agency recommended dose. The B12 is made by bacteria during the fermentation of two plant products, corn steep syrup and molasses. It is then extracted and purified.
Claims to give you more energy and a better ability to cope with stress. The effects last a week or two. Unlike oral supplements, which don’t boost B12 levels above normal, injections temporarily raise energy before the B12 is passed out of the system in urine.
The science Vitamin B12 helps to release energy from food, and maintains a healthy nervous and immune system. A B12 deficiency leads to tiredness and anaemia.
Contacts alive + well, London WC2 (020-7379 5531); aliveandwell.co.uk
The British Nutrition Foundation (020-7404 6504; nutrition.org.uk)
KERRI SMITH
