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The Shambulance: Copying Roger Clemens Won't Help You Lose Holiday Pounds

Discover the truth about vitamin B12 injections and their real effects on energy and weight loss in this insightful article.

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The Shambulance is an occasional series in which I try to find the truth about bogus or overhyped health products. With me at the wheel of the Shambulance are Steven Swoap and Daniel Lynch.

The injections he'd been receiving in the buttocks during his major-league baseball career, pitcher Roger Clemens explained to a jury this summer, were not steroids. They were perfectly legal and innocent shots of vitamin B12. The jury acquitted him, lifting the weight of a felony perjury charge from his shoulders. You, too, can use B12 to put some spring back into your step—at least, if you believe the companies that market the injections for weight loss, energy, and general well-being. In reality, this is not a performance enhancer.

B12 is a quirky vitamin that you can't get from plants. It's manufactured by bacteria that provide their services to some animals by living in their guts. Humans ...

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