the world's highest known source of complete protein containing all 8 essential amino acids
http://www.naturalhealthway.com/supe...spirulina.html
60% thats more than meat and soy together and its highly absorbable
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the world's highest known source of complete protein containing all 8 essential amino acids
http://www.naturalhealthway.com/supe...spirulina.html
60% thats more than meat and soy together and its highly absorbable
Does it really have vitamin B12? I thought that any plants containing B-12 were only if it comes directly from the soil. I guess I'm not completely knowledgeable on my B12 sources. Thanks for telling us about this.
P.S. I thought there were nine essential amino acids. Is it a typo or am I missing something yet again?
Check out this thread....
B12 and B12 analogues in multivitamins, animal foods and spirulina
If we can forget B12 for a moment (my B12 levels are fine), as I just want to know about spirulina. For a while I've been taking a daily spirulina 1000 tablet, that contain 70 percent spirulina, plus some calcium phosphate and anti-caking agents, and contains no dairy or animal-derived products. What is your opinion of this Korn?
Asking about my opinion, and also to forget about B12? That's a difficult one.... :)
Since I'm not doing any research on my own, all I about is what I find in other studies, which are often conflicting. I'm trying to have as few opinions as possible, and this applies to spirulina (and B12) as well. I could refer to some (conflicting) opinions about spirulina and it's ability to provide useful B12, but you don't want that - and since I have no personal experience with spirulina, i'll rather ask you a question instead. ;)
How long have you been taking it? Have you checked your homocysteine and MMA levels before and after having been taking it for a while? Was there any significant change in these levels?
Been taking the tabs for about a year, but no I've not had any levels checked since taking them. Guess I'm not really concerned, but just wondered whether to continue buying these tabs or if I'm wasting my dosh.
why do they put calcium phosphate and other crap in them, iv got tabs that are 100% spriulina, the markus rohrer ones, they come in these purple uv protective jars.
The B12 content, according to this site, is zero for both dried and raw:
http://http://www.nutritiondata.com/...1-01c20ia.html
http://http://www.nutritiondata.com/...1-01c20ib.html
This may be a similar situation to other vegetables, where the B12 is actually from microbes living in the soil that hasn't been washed off thoroughly. Different labs may come up with different figures based on how careful they are cleaning it prior to analysis. Keep in mind B12 is measured in micrograms which are a thousandth of a milligram. Just a single spec of dirt on your carrot might have a full daily allowance!:)
Hi Mahk, these links don't seem to work (at least here)...Quote:
Mahk
All B12 is from microorganisms/bacteria, whether the B12 is found in soil, water, animals or plants... Some people mix up microorganisms/bacteria with 'dirt', but there's nothing dirty about microrganisms as such. We're all full of bacteria, and that's the way it's meat to be! :)Quote:
This may be a similar situation to other vegetables, where the B12 is actually from microbes living in the soil that hasn't been washed off thoroughly.
All the labs I have been in touch with are heating the plants up to circa 120C before measuring the B12 levels, and the B12 reduction process (reduction from heat) is starting around 100C. The labs I asked also said that they never had tested really fresh plants of any sort.Quote:
Different labs may come up with different figures based on how careful they are cleaning it prior to analysis.
That's an often mention theory that i've never seen backed up by any documentation. ;)Quote:
Just a single spec of dirt on your carrot might have a full daily allowance!:)
I'm having trouble posting links (and pics). It may be a security setting on my computer. Sorry to make everyone have to cut and paste but here you go:
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20ia.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20ib.html
Or do these work? :
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20ia.html
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-C00001-01c20ib.html
If all fail, go to www.nutritiondata.com (a great site, by the way) and search for spirulina raw and dried.
Just found this. They seem to think spirulina actually is anti-B12 because the B12 analogues block the B12 receptors :(:
http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/...-anat-7c.shtml
Did that link work? (Sorry if the later part of the article is... nauseating.)
Yes, they both work now.Quote:
Did that link work?
It is... and we have discussed this weird experiment in another thread (or more already. You just have to get used to the fact that anti-vegans, like those who run that site, seem to love to post anything that creates associations between B12 and dirt, bugs and stools.Quote:
(Sorry if the later part of the article is... nauseating.)
The authors of the links you have posted don't seem to agree with each other, because on says that there is no B12 in spirulina, while the other claims that spirulina contain 'mostly' analogues of B-12 and that Victor Herbert, another famous anti-vegan reported in 1988 that tests revealed that spirulina contained 'almost' no true B-12.
It's interesting that the same Herbert suggested eggs as a reliable source of B12, since eggs is one of the animal products known for containing substances that block B12 absorption*.
It's also interesting that this site claims that the the very presence of analogues ("pseudo-B12") in fermented foods makes them unreliable sources for B-12 - when we know that B12 in supplements is made from fermentation, and that B12 analogues are found in multivitamins (which they don't warn against), in animal products (which they don't warn against) and B12 fortified foods (which they don't warn against).
The whole thing gets a little absurd when they (when commenting the weird test where they tried to treat B12 deficiency by using B12 extracted from human stools) write that "the work of Callendar mentioned above could be taken to suggest that the true B-12 in the feces (if reingested and passed back through the small bowel) would be absorbed, despite the substantial amount of analogues present".
If this is the case, shouldn't they at least reconsider the danger represented by 'presence of B12 analogues'?
If it's correct that B12 derived from a mix of 95% B12 analogues and 5% genuine B12 is functional, and if it's correct that "about 36% of the total corrinoid vitamin B-12 activity in Spirulina is human active" (se our other spirulina thread) - shouldn't we expect the B12 derived from spirulina to be more effective than the mix based on 5% B12 only?
Nutritiondata.com may be useful, but in the case of any product that there are controversy about, like seaweeds, they don't mention the different findings or the B12 analogue controversy (or their sources) at all, they may just have found some info and quote it (like most of us do).
Other studies on seaweeds have found that the level of B12 is dependent on how fresh it is, the level of cobalt in the sea (which is season dependent) and more. Most sites who claim that B12 from seaweed is not reliable because of the B12 may dominantly consist of B12 analogues fail to mention findings that 20-90% of the B12 in multivitamin supplements is present as B12 analogues...
Why are (some) vegans so eager about informing about the possible problem with the presence of B12 analogues in plants, but seem to be totally NOT interested in the fact that B12 analogues are present in multivitamin supplements, fortified food and animal products?
What do we actually know? We know that conflicting info about B12 in plants and the risk implemented in consuming a mix of B12 and B12 analogues.
I don't see a reason to primarily use anti-vegan sources (known for posting conflicting info) as the main (or most reliable) source for info about B12.... but do I know if spirulina contains bioavailable, active B12? I have no idea.
*Source:
Doscherholmen A and others. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1975 Sep;149(4):987-90; DoscherholmenA and others. Br J Haematol 1976 Jun;33(2):261-72
Sorry Korn, (and to others). My mistake. :o I had never heard of that site and had no idea they were anti-vegan. I had just stumbled upon it by doing a Google search for "B12 soil microbes vegetable" (or similar) and it appeared. I stopped reading it after it got gross though so I didn't delve into their complete views.
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You're right that the nutrition data that nutritiondata.com uses is not from their own research but rather is quoting other sources:
"Sources of Data
The data in ND's database comes from the USDA's National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (release 19) and is supplemented by additional listings provided by restaurants and food manufacturers."
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In my own personal quest for vegan B12 I bought this un -fortified, single ingredient food. Can anyone guess what it is?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2404/...cd6e13e8_o.jpg
61% DV from eating only 7 g. !! :eek::)
It's too expensive to eat daily (and I don't really like the taste, anyway) but I had to try it so I bought a bag at Whole Foods Market. It's also a sea veg and is called "Laver", grown near me on the Atlantic coast (Maine). It tastes like a saltier, crunchier nori sheet (that I also have on hand to make sushi). The label mentions (I'm paraphrasing): "we are organic and don't heavily process or wash away the mineral richness, so watch out for mini pebbles and shell fragments in the fronds". Makes me wonder if the B12 is really just micro sea critters living in the sea just like the specs of dirt on my carrots.:)
This laver is probably nori, don't you think? Nori is often called laver or dried laver.
There are more articles about laver / B12 / Nori here:
http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...highlight=nori
The web site of the company that sells it calls it "the wild North Atlantic cousin to nori"
Why do multi-vitamins often have B12 levels that are through the roof. The Country Life brand I bought claims 8333% DV! Shouldn't 100% be just fine?:confused:
I've asked myself the same question. Maybe they know something you and I don't know, or maybe they're taking the reports about 20-80% multivitamins containing useless B12 seriously, and therefore add some extra B12 to be 'safe'. Ask them! :)Quote:
Why do multi-vitamins often have B12 levels that are through the roof
I eat spirulina like candy. the b12 in vitamins is not absorbed well by the body through the stomache, I think it is a different form than methylcobalamin, which you put under your tongue and goes into your blood stream.
is anyone growing wheatgrass at home? Id love to try that!