B12 concern ..

[escapee]

I have not taken any supplement on B12 for 2 months and i'm little concerned after reading all about B12 deficiency (from both views) . I'm wondering how many of you here ... ... ( refer to the poll )

 

Thank you for your vote .

[pelicanAndrew]

I drink b12 forified rice milk and take a pill every other day or so. It's a one a day vitamin so i probably should take it every day, i just think it's overkill some days.

[willpeavy]

I take a multi w/ B12 everyday

[Kathryn]

I do a mix of B12-fortified foods and beverages and a B12 spray.

[Guest]

I don't try to get any...the soymilk I buy just has it sometimes...I have also used nutritional yeast religiously since going vegan...even before I noticed it had b12 added

[loveliberate]

Never on purpose but it's in a lot of foods I eat, like soymilk.

[joelbct]

I don't take it every day, as it is in the Silk soymilk I buy, and in the Vega now, and there is some in seaweed.

 

Once every 2 or 3 days I take part of a Solgar vegetarian B complex (Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, B6, Folic Acid, B12, Biotin). Because it has 25 to 30 times the RDA of a few of the ingredients, I just sprinkle about a sixth of a capsule at a time into some water or juice.

 

Some vitamins have upper limits, so don't supplement too much- I took some nutritional yeast at the same time as the B complex once, and got a wicked Niacin flush, I thought I was dying...

 

That said, I think B vitamins are awesome, but obviously supplements should not take the place of eating lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, etc-

 

-Joel

[Odidnetne]

It's in my multivitamin, I don't put much thought into it.

[escapee]

I'm not that confident i'm getting enough from the vege diet that i have daily so Im taking B-complex with lipotropics, wheat germ & lecithin now for safety .

 

Thanks

[Kathryn]

I don't take it every day, as it is in the Silk soymilk I buy, and in the Vega now, and there is some in seaweed.

 

Seaweed is not a reliable source of B12. In fact, it contains B12 analogs, which are not absorbed by the body as B12. Some people actually end up with B12 deficiencies if they overdo on the Nori and don't supplement with actual B12.

[joelbct]

Seaweed is not a reliable source of B12. In fact, it contains B12 analogs, which are not absorbed by the body as B12. Some people actually end up with B12 deficiencies if they overdo on the Nori and don't supplement with actual B12.

 

Good to know, perhaps I should do more research- In any case, I think I am getting more than enough B12 at the moment, but note to self, refrain from Nori-only diet

[escapee]

I have also started to take some radix pseudoginseng (tablet form) , a traditional herb well known in the east for almost thousand years for boosting immunity and treating traumatic injuries .

[VeganAnthony]

I get a 2000 mcg shot every week. well sometimes I run low on money and skip a week.

[michael]

Seaweed is not a reliable source of B12. In fact, it contains B12 analogs, which are not absorbed by the body as B12. Some people actually end up with B12 deficiencies if they overdo on the Nori and don't supplement with actual B12.

 

This is really not at all conclusive. I can find several sources, e.g this excerpt here which states otherwise:

 

Seaweeds and Vitamin B-12 - In a study of the vitamin B-12 status of long-time vegans, Finnish nutritionists reported that vegans who ate nori and/or chlorella seaweeds had B-12 concentrations in their blood twice as high as those not eating seaweeds. "We conclude that some seaweeds consumed in large amounts can supply adequate amounts of bioavailable vitamin B-12," the researchers stated. Source: A. L. Rauma et al., "Vitamin B-12 Status of Long-Term Adherents of a Strict Uncooked Vegan Diet," Journal of Nutrition 125(10)2511-5, 1995.