Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Hydrilla Verticillata (waterthyme) – more B12 than any other food on the planet?

  1. #1
    truth1977
    Guest

    Default Hydrilla Verticillata (waterthyme) – more B12 than any other food on the planet?

    Hey Everyone,

    Long time reader, first time poster. I have been a Vegetarian for about 3.5 years and a Vegan for a little over a year.

    It is my firmly held belief that it is possible to get all essential nutrients from a Vegan diet without synthetic supplements. I know some here may disagree, but deep down, I truly believe it is possible. So basically, a large part of my life is devoted to researching foods/herbs/plants that make this a reality.

    Well, after over a year of ongoing researc, I stumbled upon something incredible:

    I found a plant that contains more B12 than any other food on the planet -- and its Vegan!!

    Despite literally months of digging through posts and archives on Vegan message boards, I have never heard anyone mention it.

    What is it you ask?

    Hydrilla Verticillata

    I know, I had never heard of it either, but low and behold, it is LOADED with B12! According to the nutritional chart on the site I found it on, it contains 425mcg of B12 in one Tablespoon. Wow.

    You can see the chart and read all the background info on the plant here: Hydrilla Verticillata (The Healers Store)

    I did some more research on various other sites and it seems to be true, it really is loaded with B12. There's not a ton of information out there on it yet, which is probably why it really hasn't surfaced in the Vegan community.

    I can already hear people claiming its an analog and not true B12. Maybe... I have no way to know as I haven't had it tested, but I can say this.

    I bought a jar and have been taking it for about a month and I feel great. When I first started taking it, I definitely noticed a lift in mood and energy and overall I feel more centered and more like myself. It's got a pretty awesome nutritional profile overall.

    My verdict? Potential game changer for the Vegan community. Someone needs to get this tested to see if its an analog, but pending that I say its definitely worth a try, especially if you're like me and your committed to getting all your nutrients from food and not synthetic vitamins!!

    Big J

  2. #2
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Europe
    Posts
    4,830

    Default Re: Hydrilla Verticillata – more B12 than any other food on the planet?

    Quote truth1977 View Post

    I can already hear people claiming its an analog and not true B12. Maybe... I have no way to know as I haven't had it tested, but I can say this. I bought a jar and have been taking it for about a month and I feel great. When I first started taking it, I definitely noticed a lift in mood and energy and overall I feel more centered and more like myself. It's got a pretty awesome nutritional profile overall.
    Hi, and thanks for the info! 475 mcg Vitamin B12 per 4.75g serving is very high, but if bioavailability for humans isn't tested yet, isn't it a bit premature for the company selling Hydrilla Powder to claim this (see below)?

    Hydrilla is one of the richest sources of B-Complex vitamins on the planet, especially the hard to get Vitamins B12 and B6, which are commonly deficient in modern diets. In fact, Hydrilla has more Vitamin B12 than any other food on the planet! This makes it a particularly important food for vegans and vegetarians, who are usually deficient in Vitamin B12 due to the lack of its occurrence in plant foods.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

  3. #3
    truth1977
    Guest

    Default Re: Hydrilla Verticillata – more B12 than any other food on the planet?

    Hey Korn,

    Yes 425 mcg B12 is very high. I would imagine that at least some of it is bioavailable. Even if only 1% were bioavailable, that would be significant.

    I had been taking methylcobalamin supplements for years with mediocre results at best. However, the Hydrilla definitely made me feel great. I know this is anecdotal, but its definitely interesting and worth investigating.

    I just cant believe no one had seen any of this before. A vegan food containing high amounts of B12! In all the discussions on B12 content in Vegan foods people are arguing over a few mcg here and there in algaes and Tempeh, etc. Here comes a plant that grows wild in abundance all over the world and its loaded with B12. Very, very interesting.

    Big J

  4. #4
    Ex-admin Korn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Europe
    Posts
    4,830

    Default Re: Hydrilla Verticillata – more B12 than any other food on the planet?

    Quote truth1977 View Post
    I would imagine that at least some of it is bioavailable. Even if only 1% were bioavailable, that would be significant.
    True, unless the remaining 99% would be inactive B12 analogues blocking the remaining 1% from being absorbed. There are opposing opinions about what kind of effect a combination of active and inactive B12 analogues has on B12 status.


    I just cant believe no one had seen any of this before.
    Well, there are hundreds of thousands of plant species in the world, and most of them haven't been tested for B12 yet, so we could see a lot of reports popping up in the coming decades...


    In all the discussions on B12 content in Vegan foods people are arguing over a few mcg here and there in algaes and Tempeh, etc.
    Some of the vegan source which not only have been reported to contain B12 but are claimed to contain B12 which is bioavailable for humans actually have quite high amounts. If you look at the threads in the section (called B12 in plants?) I initially moved this thread to, and focus on on the threads which are marked [bio] (meaning that these plants are claimed to contain bioavailable B12), several sources are reported to contain more than 50 mcg B12/100g. In comparison, eggs contain circa 2 mcg B12/100 g (which isn't fully absorbable, by the way), dairy cheese contains up to circa 2-3 mcg B12/100 g, lamb 3-4 mcg B12/100 g, and beef contains circa 6 mcg B12/100g.

    Most of the animal products which contain really high amounts of B12 are sea products: clams, oysters, mussels, caviar, octopus, crab and lobster. So it doesn't surprise me that the vegan sources of B12 which usually are listed as high in B12 (active or not) also are sea products. The explanation is probably that the ocean is full of B12 - between 10 mcg/liter or less and 200 mcg/liter. More here. If you have read about B12 levels in some of the vegan ocean/water based sources which are said to contain B12, you have probably seen that the B12 levels vary based on temperature/season and how close to the surface the samples have been taken.

    A book called "Comprehensive B12: Chemistry, Biochemistry, Nutrition, Ecology, Medicine" (by Zenon Schneider and Andrzej Stroiński) states that 'ocean water seems to be the greatest B12-pool in nature'. It also states that the B12 levels in soil are about a thousand times higher than in the ocean, but there's more sea that soil out there... This was written in the 70s. Due to all these B12 antagonists discussed in other threads, the levels may be lower today (especially in soil), only after 30-40 years.

    Nevertheless - Hydrilla Verticillata (waterthyme) appears to contain extremely high concentrations of B12 - so high that one probably should be careful taking too much of it, all depending on the bioavailability/activity of the B12 in those plants. There are already several companies selling Hydrilla powder, so studies reporting about the bioavailablity of B12 in waterthyme will probably show up within not too long. ETA: If no others than the companies which sell waterthyme products confirm that these product contains relevant B12, something is wrong somewhere...

    Hint: Anyone who wants to may actually make such a report, by measuring the B12 and MMA levels before and after a period of using a Hydrilla product.

    Btw, I'll move this thread over to the "Going Vegan" area, so you can continue the discussion even if you aren't a vegan.
    I will not eat anything that walks, swims, flies, runs, skips, hops or crawls.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 3
    Last Post: Sep 8th, 2012, 12:00 AM
  2. One Planet Products
    By LMP in forum Projects, companies & links
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: Dec 12th, 2009, 11:44 PM
  3. Saving the Planet
    By cyril in forum LOCAL FORUMS AND TRAVELING
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: Apr 26th, 2008, 09:51 AM
  4. love the planet
    By lozza in forum VEGAN HEALTH
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: Jul 17th, 2006, 10:49 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •