What about vitamin B12 on a vegan diet?

Answer 1

As the first responder stated it's not as big a problem as once thought! You can get more than enough B12 through pills or supplemented food like the next two folks stated.

Now the fun part! I got to play 'lab rat' several years ago (for other reasons I'm part of a life-long medical study) I was tested (along with about 30 other people) to see where I was obtaining my B12. I get most of my B12 from the wonderful bacteria living in my intestines. Yes, I am absorbing it through my larger intestinal wall! Kind of contradicts the usual 'wisdom' that humans can't do this doesn't it. About a third of us in the study were obtaining a decent amount that way and the others were getting at least some, only 1 person wasn't getting any. Those of us who were 'generating' most of our own B12 were all folks that used home-made tempeh and there was a direct correlation between tempeh use and B12 absorption (and also how much was in our excrement).

In other words eat lots of tempeh and learn to make your own!

Edit:

Oops! Sorry Animal lover, I clicked wrong!

Answer 2

The data on B12 is still coming in, so it is impossible to say "It's no problem....", however, the latest information suggests that acquiring enough B12 is not as problematic as it was once thought. If you are concerned about inadequate B12, there are many foods which are fortified with B12, in addition to vitamin pills.

Answer 3

There is 10% RDA for B12 listed on some of my bags of seaweed (per serving of sea vegetables). I have been told not to count on it and eat a supplement also. The supplements are small and inexpensive insurance. If you drink commercial soymilk they generally have added B12 and you could skip the pill.

Answer 4

B12 Supplement.

Answer 5

Nutritional Yeast.

I love the stuff.

B 12 is a bacteria. It's in meat because animals eat their poop. It used to be on veggies when we used poop as fertilizer. Now we wash the B 12 off, when it's there. But primarily use chemical fertilizers which don't provide B 12.

Nutritional Yeast is usually vegan. Be careful that you get a vegan brand. Usually grown on molasses. It's good stuff. Loaded in nutrients. Will make your hair nice, your skin nice and put you in an all around good mood.

Answer 6

I actually get a B12 injection when I visit my doctor. You should ask your doctor for those injections too.

Answer 7

Even the vegan society says you need supplements or fortified foods, and yeast and tempeh, etc, don't work.

http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/b12/

"The only reliable vegan sources of B12 are foods fortified with B12 (including some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals) and B12 supplements. Vitamin B12, whether in supplements, fortified foods, or animal products, comes from micro-organisms."

"Most vegans consume enough B12 to avoid anaemia and nervous system damage, but many do not get enough to minimise potential risk of heart disease or pregnancy complications.
If relying on fortified foods check the labels carefully to make sure you are getting enough B12. For example, if a fortified plant milk contains 1 microgram of B12 per serving then consuming three servings a day will provide adequate vitamin B12. Others may find the use of B12 supplements more convenient and economical."

"Clinical deficiency can cause anaemia or nervous system damage. Most vegans consume enough B12 to avoid clinical deficiency. Two subgroups of vegans are at particular risk of B12 deficiency: long-term vegans who avoid common fortified foods (such as raw food vegans or macrobiotic vegans) and breastfed infants of vegan mothers whose own intake of B12 is low. "

"In adults typical deficiency symptoms include loss of energy, tingling, numbness, reduced sensitivity to pain or pressure, blurred vision, abnormal gait, sore tongue, poor memory, confusion, hallucinations and personality changes. Often these symptoms develop gradually over several months to a year before being recognised as being due to B12 deficiency and they are usually reversible on administration of B12. There is however no entirely consistent and reliable set of symptoms and there are cases of permanent damage in adults from B12 deficiency. If you suspect a problem then get a skilled diagnosis from a medical practitioner as each of these symptoms can also be caused by problems other than B12 deficiency.

Infants typically show more rapid onset of symptoms than adults. B12 deficiency may lead to loss of energy and appetite and failure to thrive. If not promptly corrected this can progress to coma or death. Again there is no entirely consistent pattern of symptoms. Infants are more vulnerable to permanent damage than adults. Some make a full recovery, but others show retarded development. "

"If for any reason you choose not to use fortified foods or supplements you should recognise that you are carrying out a dangerous experiment - one that many have tried before with consistently low levels of success. If you are an adult who is neither breast-feeding an infant, pregnant nor seeking to become pregnant, and wish to test a potential B12 source that has not already been shown to be inadequate, then this can be a reasonable course of action with appropriate precautions. For your own protection, you should arrange to have your B12 status checked annually. If homocysteine or MMA is even modestly elevated then you are endangering your health if you persist.

If you are breast feeding an infant, pregnant or seeking to become pregnant or are an adult contemplating carrying out such an experiment on a child, then don't take the risk. It is simply unjustifiable.

Claimed sources of B12 that have been shown through direct studies of vegans to be inadequate include human gut bacteria, spirulina, dried nori, barley grass and most other seaweeds. Several studies of raw food vegans have shown that raw food offers no special protection.

Reports that B12 has been measured in a food are not enough to qualify that food as a reliable B12 source. It is difficult to distinguish true B12 from analogues that can disrupt B12 metabolism. Even if true B12 is present in a food, it may be rendered ineffective if analogues are present in comparable amounts to the true B12. There is only one reliable test for a B12 source - does it consistently prevent and correct deficiency? Anyone proposing a particular food as a B12 source should be challenged to present such evidence."