VITAMIN B12


 


An excellent article on Vitamin B12.


 


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Table of Contents




Introduction

There are concerns for people who


 


would like to try a vegan diet


 


regarding vitamin B12.


 


Before saying anything else,


 


disease from B12 deficiency in a


 


sensible diet is extremely rare –


 


less than one in a million. This is


 


explained in the section Why


 


Vitamin B12 Deficiency is So


 


Rare.


 


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Why Vitamin B12 is Required

According to Wikipedia, Vitamin B12 is,


".. also called cobalamin.



(It) is a water soluble vitamin


with a key role in the normal


functioning of the brain and


nervous system, and for the


formation of blood. ….



It is normally involved in the


metabolism of every cell of the


human body, especially affecting


DNA synthesis and regulation,


but also fatty acid synthesis and


energy production. As the


largest (molecularly speaking)


and most structurally


complicated vitamin, it can be


produced industrially only


through bacterial fermentation-


synthesis. "



So vitamin B12 is required to


 


produce red blood cells. Since red


 


blood cells have high turn over rate


 


– they only live for 3 months so


 


they are produced constantly little


 


by little – it is important to get


 


nutrients that are needed to make


 


red blood cells everyday.

Vitamin B12 also helps to build your


 


immune system. It is also very


 


important nutrient for pregnant and


 


nursing women. Vitamin B12


 


deficiency can causes types of


 


disorder associated with nervous


 


and mental health.


 


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Where is Vitamin B12 in Foods

From evolutionary point of view,


 


vegan diet with lots of fruits is diet


 


for human, except this one


 


weakness – vitamin B12. The


 


reason for this apparent


 


inconsistency is because we peel


 


all the vegetable we eat – be it


 


carrot, potato, radish, etc. Root


 


vegetable with stained spots due to


 


contact to soil, are good supply of


 


vitamin B12, but we are stripping


 


all these by fanatical peeling and


 


washing of all vegetables.

Nutritionists say vitamin B12 is only


 


in meat. This is not exactly true.


 


First, live stock animals do not


 


produce vitamin B 12. Vitamin B12


 


comes from bacteria in soil. Animal


 


tissues store vitamin B12 which is


 


synthesized by bacteria. When


 


these animals become food for


 


human, this vitamin B12 is also


 


passed onto human.

When animals eat vegetable on the


 


ground, they eat a little bit of soil


 


and dirt together. There are also


 


microorganisms located in the


 


animal's intestine that produce


 


Vitamin B12 – this is same for the


 


human.

The human gut contains vitamin


 


B12 synthesizing bacteria. They


 


live all the way from the mouth to


 


the anus. The presence of these


 


bacteria is an important reason


 


that disease from vitamin B12


 


deficiency occurs very rare, even


 


among those who have been strict


 


vegans all of their lives. The colon


 


has the most bacteria (4 trillion/cc


 


of feces). Here, most of our


 


intestinal B12 is produced.


 


However, vitamin B12 is absorbed


 


in the ileum (end of small


 


intestine), which lies before the


 


colon, this plentiful vitamin B12 is


 


not readily available for absorption.


 


This does not mean that small


 


intestine does not have vitamin B12


 


producing bacteria. They do, but


 


only in small amount due to


 


stomach acid produced which kills


 


many micro-organisms


 


periodically.

Animal fecal matters contain large


 


amounts of active B12. When these


 


are used as manure for field, the


 


crops growing in it comes in


 


contact with vitamin B12 rich soil.


 


Grass eating herbivores have


 


bacteria in their stomachs that


 


synthesize vitamin B12, which is


 


then passed down and absorbed by


 


their small intestines.

Primitive people who are eating


 


plant based diet and have no


 


vitamin B12 deficiency problem is


 


because they do not clean food as


 


clean as people who live in first


 


world people. These primitives are


 


getting their food directly out of the


 


ground still covered in soil and do


 


not wash thoroughly as people in


 


modern society.

Traditionally, Buddhist monks in


 


Northeast Asia (China, Korea, and


 


Japan) also do not peel the


 


vegetables when they eat. They


 


only wash to the point that food


 


would not be gritty for cooking and


 


eating. When they eat anything they


 


are required to eat everything on


 


the table or at least not waste


 


anything.

This is why all Buddhist monks in


 


Northeast Asia never had vitamin


 


B12 deficiencies despite they do


 


not consume any animal products


 


including dairy (nowadays some


 


monks eat dairy products, but not


 


in old days).

If you want to get vitamin B12 from


 


plant, get organic root vegetables,


 


wash them to get the dirt off, but do


 


not brush the skin, and do not peel


 


– then cook/eat. The dark spots in


 


the plant skin due to contact to soil


 


contains bacteria that has vitamin


 


B12. If you leave your root


 


vegetable in the refrigerator, those


 


dark spots are the most likely


 


spots that would rot first due to


 


bacteria already living there.

Meat and dairy industry tell people


 


that animal foods are necessary for


 


obtaining vitamin B12, not so. By


 


the way, vitamin B12 is the only


 


weakness for any well balanced


 


vegan diet. 
 
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Why Vitamin B12 Deficiency is So Rare

Another reason why vitamin B12 is


 


so rare is because the human body


 


has highly efficient mechanisms to


 


absorb and recycle this vitamin.


 


Vitamin B12 is the only nutrient


 


that requires a cofactor for


 


efficient absorption. After stomach


 


process food through acidic


 


digestion, stomach cell produce a


 


substance called "intrinsic factor"


 


that combines with the vitamin B12


 


in the food. Then this "intrinsic


 


factor-B12 complex" travels to the


 


end of the small intestine (ileum)


 


where it is actively absorbed.

There is a second, much less


 


efficient process, called "the


 


passive absorption of B12" which


 


also occurs in the intestine. This


 


mechanism does not use the


 


intrinsic factor. As a result, it is


 


1000 times less efficient. However,


 


by consuming very large doses of


 


vitamin B12, passive absorption


 


will correct B12 deficiency even for


 


patients with diseases of the


 


stomach and small intestine.

One adult average daily


 


requirement is less than 3


 


micrograms per day (1 microgram


 


is 1/1,000,000 gram). This means


 


by evolutionary design, human are


 


expected to come in contact with


 


this essential nutrient in the traces


 


of soil in fruits and vegetables


 


surfaces.

On average, for someone who had


 


Western diet, has about 2 to 5


 


milligrams of B12 stored in their


 


body, mostly in the liver. This is


 


at  least a 3 year vitamin B12


 


reserve. Additionally, due to


 


conservation of B12 in human


 


physiology adds the lasting period


 


of this supply up to 10 times. After


 


excretion through the bile into the


 


intestines, most of the B12 is


 


reabsorbed at the end of small


 


intestine for future use. So due to


 


B12 recycle in our system, it


 


actually takes 20 to 30 years to


 


become deficient after becoming a


 


strict vegan with if no vitamin B12


 


was taken.

However, even on a strict vegan


 


diet, it is impossible to not to


 


consume any amount of vitamin


 


B12, because of bacteria which


 


produce vitamin B12 can be found


 


in a person from mouth to anus,


 


vegetable foods that are not


 


completely washed/peeled of those


 


dark spots where bacteria lives,


 


and in the environment vitamin B12


 


producing bacteria lives.

As a matter of fact, almost all cases


 


of vitamin B12 deficiency seen in


 


patients today and in the past are


 


due to diseases of the intestine.


 


They are not due to a lack of B12 in


 


their diet. Damage to the parietal


 


cells in stomach lining usually


 


comes from an auto immune


 


disease.

A stomach surgery can also halt the


 


production of intrinsic factor.


 


Damage to the ileum (end section


 


of small intestine), preventing re-


 


absorption and interrupting


 


recirculation, causes the loss of


 


B12. From these damages over a


 


period of 3 to 6 years the body’s


 


stores of vitamin B12 are depleted.

There is evidence that suggests


 


that during pregnancy and nursing


 


a mother is more dependent on B12


 


from her diet, because B12 stored


 


in the woman’s body is less


 


available for the baby. Therefore,


 


during these important times, B12


 


supplementation should be used by


 


a vegan mother.

In sum, intestinal diseases, not


 


dietary deficiency, cause most


 


vitamin B12 deficiency problems.


 


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How Much Vitamin B12 is Needed

Some people recommend that if


 


you  are a vegan and/or you are


 


pregnant or nursing, take 5


 


micrograms of vitamin B12 every


 


day from pills.

The recommended amount of


 


Vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms per


 


day, although to be on the safe side


 


and for optimum nutrition aim for


 


10 micrograms per day. Yet, as


 


little as 0.3 to 0.65 micrograms per


 


day of vitamin B12 has cured


 


megaloblastic anemia (since B12 is


 


involved in red blood cell


 


production) due to vitamin B12


 


deficiency. It's such a small


 


amount but important for good


 


health.

Supplements for multivitamin and


 


vitamin B12 contain 500 to 5,000


 


micrograms of vitamin B12 per pill.


 


These exaggerated concentrations


 


will correct by passive absorption


 


B12 deficiency if there are any


 


diseases in the intestinal system.


 


Everyone else who does not have


 


internal digestive organ problem,


 


are being overdosed by 1,000 times


 


– not that it would create any


 


problem.

So if you are a healthy vegan and


 


using typical dosages of B12 (500


 


micrograms or more per pill), then


 


one weekly dose of this vitamin


 


will be more than sufficient. If


 


you're the type of person who


 


would prefer to take your Vitamin


 


B12 supplement once per week instead of once per day, then you'll


 


need to take 2,000 micrograms per


 


week.

In order to minimize any health


 


problems, the human diet should


 


be as recommended in the vegan


 


weight loss page. To avoid the


 


extremely rare chance of becoming


 


a national headline, add a reliable


 


B12 supplement


 


 


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Vitamin B12 Source for Vegan's

There have been reports that


 


fermented vegetable foods such as


 


tempeh and miso has vitamin B12.


 


However, this seems only valid if


 


vegetables used is not washed and


 


peeled as thoroughly as 20th


 


century first world standard. So if


 


you want to get vitamin B12 from


 


plants then get organic root


 


vegetables, wash them to get the


 


dirt off, but do not brush the skin,


 


and do not peel – then cook & eat.


 


The dark spots in the plant skin


 


due to contact to soil contains


 


bacteria that has vitamin B12.

There have been reports that laver


 


and other seaweeds have vitamin


 


B12 in their cell due to bacteria


 


living within porous cells of


 


seaweeds. However, a more


 


reliable source is from organic root


 


vegetables. If you want to get


 


vitamin B12 from plant, get organic


 


root vegetables, wash them to get


 


the dirt off, but do not brush the


 


skin, and do not peel – then


 


cook & eat. The dark spots in the


 


plant skin due to contact to soil


 


contains bacteria that has vitamin


 


B12.

Nutritional Yeast can be source of


 


vegan vitamin B12 only if it is


 


fortified with vitamin B12. You can


 


buy it from Whole Foods or other


 


health stores but they tend to be


 


expensive. To get   Nutritional Yeast fortified with vitamin B12, with relatively cheap price, click herehttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wholevegan-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B000EDM8FS.


 


About 3 tablespoons nutritional


 


yeast in large flakes is equal to 8


 


micrograms of B12. So 6 table


 


spoon of nutritional yeasts are


 


needed to meet the 10 micrograms


 


per day requirement.

However, this is not most


 


economical means because


 


nutritional yeast tends to be on the


 


expensive side. Nutritional Yeast is


 


often used as a vegan ingredient


 


for making vegan dishes taste like


 


cheese.  Here are list of nutritional yeasts with good reviews https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wholevegan-20&l=ur2&o=1.



  Here are list of nutritional


 


yeasts with good reviews https://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wholevegan-20&l=ur2&o=1.

Some vegan products are also


 


fortified with vitamin B12. Make


 


sure to check the ingredients. If all


 


these recommendations give you


 


too much headache, just take pills


 


(((or capsels)))


 


to meet 2,000mg of vitamin B12 a


 


week.


 


 


This excellent article is from:


 

                                       wholevegan.com






      (((((Personally, I do not suggest to use the yeast because they add the B 12 to the yeast and you do not know the source, which can be an animal origin.))))))