Forum: Vegan B12

If you have read a little about vegan food and nutrition, you know that vegans often have lower B12 levels than others. It's important to make sure your B12 levels don't get too low. Too little B12 is definitely not a good thing. Normally, it is considered safe to take a lot of B12, but this is...

This is about a study linking low levels of vitamin B12 to memory loss in the elderly. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7595423.stm Vegans don't seem to get a mention, which is nice in a way.

Hi there! I apologize in advance for being a total newb. I hope I'm not posting in the wrong section or anything. I was wondering if you should start taking B12 supplements as soon as you go vegan, and if it's dangerous to wait a bit. (More details, in case you need them: I've only been vegan...

Here are two blog articles written by Debbie Took, a near/ex(?) raw vegan about her experiences with B12. Debbie Does B12 Pt 1 (Do I Care?) Debbie Does B12 Pt 2 (Dilemmas)

This article seems to contain some incorrect info, but is IMO still interesting reading: Worried About Vitamin B12 Deficiency? The author writes about his own B12 levels here: http://www.raw-food-health.net/B12-Deficiency.html

From http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/vitb12.html#veg "A deficiency of vitamin B12, folate, or vitamin B6 may increase your blood level of homocysteine, an amino acid normally found in your blood. There is evidence that an elevated blood level of homocysteine is an independent risk factor...

http://www.garynull.com/Documents/erf/dangers_of_chlorinated_water.htm

Hello all! :smile: I'm new to the forum (and a 3-week vegan!) and was just reading around about B12 deficiency on here which made me think of a question. (I tried searching for a similar thread, but was unable to find one. :rolleyes:) Does anyone know how the Depo Provera birth control shot...

I've been taking a shot of spirulina each day (1 teaspoon in a little water). I keep reading that B12 analogues do more harm than good, so should I go easier on it, or even omit it altogether? These days, I take a B12 supplement occasionally as part of a multivitamin and have some...

Hello all, Forgive me, I'm a dummy when it comes to B12. I've been vegan for nearly 8 months now, and I feel great! I'm 21 years old, and I've always been a big cereal & milk eater. I eat cereal & milk at least 5 times a week. Prior to being a vegan, I used dairy milk. Once I became vegan,...

Im really hoping someone can give me some advice. I have been a vegetarian since 2008 and I vegan since the start of this year. When I had my b12 levels checked last march it was 512 but by this march it had dropped to 246. I saw my doctor earlier this week regarding the drop and she wants to send...

In cases of severe B12 deficiency/in patients with pernicious anemia or ileal disease, intramuscular B12 shots has been thought to be the only solution until a few years ago. Recent studies have shown that large amounts of oral/ublingual B12 can be effective treatment even in people with pernicious...

Hi everyone. I apologise in advance if I break any etiquette rules, I've only just registered on this forum and I've only been a vegan for a week having completely bypassed the vegetarian stage. I've been devouring books and information almost 24/7 and have joined the vegan society and buav and...

From http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=2380647 "Vitamin B12 contents were determined on 10 commercial tempeh samples purchased from various markets in Jakarta, Indonesia. A relatively high vitamin B12 content was found, i.e., 19 ng/g...

Hello, I've been feeling dizzy/light headed for about a day now, constantly. Obviously this isn't normal and I was worried it may be related to low B12. Now after doing some research online I'm feeling a bit confused. What the hell is the 'intrinsic factor'? What do I need to make sure...

"Microorganisms, primarily bacteria, are the only known organisms that manufacture B12. These bacteria often live in bodies of water and soil. Animals get B12 by eating food and soil contaminated with these microorganisms." Read more here... So B12 is created by microorganisms, and is (ideally)...

I have been searching the net for a B12 supplement that doesn't contain all the added filler/sugar/fake sugar stuff and found this. Has anyone tried it / heard of it? There is nothing that I can find like this in Australia so I thought I would check with you guys before spending lots of money to...

Here are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Vitamin B12 according to some US government fact sheet. There are disagreement s regarding how much B12 we actually need, but almost all experts agree that kids need less B12 than adults. If you find your B12 info from a site that doesn't...

I'm from a small company that makes healthy chocolate and I was thinking "wouldn't it be nice if our chocolate was also enriched with B12?". Considering a high proportion of people eating the chocolate are vegan already, I thought it'd be like an extra boost. Does anyone else think that's a...

Coco Pops have vit B12 in them! WIN! I'm not sure how much they have, and how that compares to how much we NEED, but still! Its pretty awesome that I can say I eat coco pops because they are nutritionally beneficial to my diet. <3 I'm gonna investigate this further...

From http://chetday.com/dmsob12.html 'Back in 1994 when I was focusing on learning as much as I could about vitamin B12, an experiment came to mind which I decided to try on myself. I saw a bottle of DMSO (dimethylsulfoxide) on the shelf of my health food store and remembered that DMSO is not...

How much B12 so you have per week? I get mine mainly from Alpro milk which has 0.5 mcg per 100ml and I have between 250-500ml of that 5-6 days a week - a bit less on other day. On the pack it says that 250ml of this is 125% (1.25mcg) of your daily B12. BUt i've just read somewhere else...

Here's a strange, but not totally uncommon theory regarding why vegans who don't take supplements do not develop a B12 deficiency. I wonder where this... anal fixation comes from? :) How was this myth about human faeces as a usable B12 source created? First of all, this Iranian study...

Vitamin B12 can prevent major birth defects Vitamin B supplements do not prevent cancer: study B vitamins fail to curb risks in heart patients Folic acid can cut heart attack risk

It's constantly brought up like a monster lurking in the closet. What shall we ever do about B12? Can our diet be natural if we require supplementation, etc. I've been doing some research on the topic, and decided to write an article, which is here. I probably didn't manage to touch on...

Hi everybody, I'm getting a bit confused about some technical terms relating to the B12 issue. For many years I thought the term "analogues" related exclusively to the inactive forms of B12, only now I seem to realise it actually relates to all forms of B12, whether active or not. Can someone...

Is it possible to DIY or do you need a million dollar lab? I apologize if that sounds too off the hook.

I was talking to my son's doctor about b12 supplements and he said for vegan families to definitely to a supplement, but he said if I just give the kids b12, it will eventually deplete the other b vitamins. He suggested a B Complex instead. I'm wondering what you think about this? Any B complex...

From http://tufts.core.org.cn/Content/24/lecturenotes/312664 An excerpt from that page:

Read here.

From http://www.strokedoctor.com/vitamin_b12.htm "Vitamin B12: All Cobalamins are not Equal Look at your multiple vitamin or B complex bottle. You're probably taking cyanocobalamin, the stable and less expensive form of vitamin B12. Because it is stable, it has a longer shelf life. However,...

Hey everyone! I just spoke to my pediatrician over the phone. I told her that I recently decided to go vegan (it was a little over a month ago) and she said something along the lines of "What?!? Why would you do that!?" I mentioned a few points, eg. world hunger, exploitation of animals,...

I've been vegan for four years, and never really thought to take supplements. My diet is pretty limited most days, due to general laziness in the kitchen, but I always eat a selection of veg every day, depending on what I can find on my shelf in the communal kitchen. I never really have too much...

I don't agree with all her viewpoints, but the article brings up some interesting thoughts.... http://www.roylretreat.com/articles/b12.html

I just wanted to post. Please be careful of what type of B12 you take. I believe I was not getting enough B12, even though my blood tests said I was OK. I had never taken B12 seriously, I thought because I was taking regular vitamins and B vitamins I would have been getting more than...

MMA (Methylmalonic Acid) tests are often mentioned when B12 (and homocysteine) is discussed. Some claim that MMA tests is a 'gold standard' for measuring B12 deficiency. Just like homocysteine, MMA is a controversial topic. Here are some links to information about MMA and MMA tests. ...

Multivitamins didn't seem to cause it, but for a week I took a daily B12-only supplement bought in a pharmacy (250mcg of cyanocobalamin), and now I feel dizzy and nauseous. It's very annoying. I've stopped the supplement a week ago but it persists. Anyone had this? Help is appreciated. ...

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/72/4/467.pdf *It feels kind of wrong to quote studies that are based on animal tests, but it would also feel wrong not to mention info that is derived from what these poor creatures have gone true, especially if this info may help other animals avoid...