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Vitamin B12: Facts For Vegetarians

Posted: admin on Mar 31 | vitamins -nutrition

Vegetarians and B12

Vegetarian foods are easily the most healthful. Vegetarians live longer, have less heart disease, less cancer, less risk of stroke, and less of other serious illnesses compared to meat-eaters. Vegetarian meals provide adequate levels of all nutrients–with the possible exception of vitamin B12. B12 is critical in the formation of red blood cells and the function of the nervous system. B12 deficiency is rare. The body has several years’ worth stored at any given time.

Traditional Sources of B12

B12 is not made by animals or plants; it is made solely by microorganisms, such as bacteria and algae. Some of the B12-developing organisms may remain on vegetables consumed by people, producing a small amount of the vitamin. Traditional Asian miso and tempeh, made from soybeans, also contain enormous amounts of B12 because of the microorganisms used during manufacture. But improved hygiene and modern processing methods have all but eliminated these traditional sources of B12 from the industrialized nations’ diet. Meat- eaters’ source of B12 is bacteria living in the digestive tracts of the animals they eat. The vitamin works its way into the animals’ muscles, organs, and milk.

Getting the Vitamin

For those who abstain from eating animal products, special care in getting enough B12 is recommended. Fortunately, this is very easy. B12 is in all common multivitamin tablets, and many foods are enriched with B12. These include many breakfast cereals, fortified nutritional yeast, and fortified soy milk. Some supplements, such as spirulina, are purported to contain B12, but actually contain none at all. On vitamins or food labels, look for B12 by its chemical name: cyanocobalamin. The Recommended Daily Allowance is two micrograms per day, but experts believe only one microgram per day is sufficient.1There is no known risk in consuming too much B12, but high doses are not necessary or recommended.   By far, the most common cause of B12 problems is not the lack of the vitamin in the diet, but a problem in absorbing it, caused by a lack of a chemical in the body called the intrinsic factor. Doctors can easily test whether a person has a normal ability to absorb B12. For those who do not, no amount of the vitamin in foods will help, and periodic injections of B12 are necessary.

Reference:

1. Herbert V. Vitamin B12: plant sources, requirements and assay. Am J Clin Nutr 1988;48:852-58

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  1. b12 on May 27, 2008 3:02 am

    […] less cancer, less risk of stroke, and less of other serious illnesses compared to meat-eaters.http://www.burnfatforhealth.com/vitamin-b12-facts-for-vegetarians/Vitamin B-12 cobalaminSummary of the latest research concerning the health benefits of vitamin […]

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