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Vitamin B12

Dr. Pink

By Dr. Pink,
in Health & Nutrition Programs

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offense74 Newbie

offense74

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None that are reliable. You might want to gamble with spirulina, algea or fermented food (like tempeh).

What you might win on not taking B-12: Psychological comfort?

What you might lose: Damage to your arteries, heart attack, stroke, brain damage and anemia.

 

I don't see the point in not taking the safe bet...

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Odidnetne Newbie

Odidnetne

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Eating unwashed produce with bits of dirt on it.

 

i'm not sure if that works too, but eating w/ your hands...unwashed....?

 

There's lots of agreement that produce with soil (with B12 obviously) is how animals in the wild get it, along with primates eating just dirt, or feces or insects. I'll stick with soymilk, thanks.

 

As for not washing your hands, that's something we don't have to do, and we have enough exposure to germs today anyway to keep healthy immune systems, so I'd prefer to keep my hands clean.

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FormicaLinoleum Newbie

FormicaLinoleum

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What are some natural Vegan ways to get Vitmin B12 that is not synthetic or fortified and found naturally?

B12 supplements are both natural and vegan. They are also the most convenient and reliable source of B12. There's no reason to avoid them.

 

If you have the time, read through this thread on B12 over at Vegan Fitness: B12 question

 

If you don't have the time, here's the bottom line. Take a B12 supplement. Take one that is B12 only, not combined with any other vitamin. B12 supplements are NOT synthetic. B12 supplements contain natural B12. There are lots of theories about other places you can get B12 (e.g., dirt or fermented products) but those are most likely in too small amounts or are not real B12 but B12 analogues that actually can interfere with absorbtion of real B12.

 

If you want just a little more information: B12 is created by bacteria. This is the one and only source of B12. We have the bacteria that make B12 in our guts, but it is too low down in our systems for us to be able to absorb the B12 they make. Some other animals get B12 because their bacteria are higher up in their guts and they can absorb the B12. Or they consume some other their own feces and get B12 that way. You can't move your B12-producing bacteria up in your gut, so you can't get B12 the way those animals do. You could eat your own feces, but would you really prefer that over a supplement? Regular old dirt will NOT contain B12 unless it contains those special bacteria. That means the dirt would have to contain good amounts of feces. Average dirt doesn't, and if it did, would you want to eat it? The B12 in supplements is made by bacteria, just like the B12 that you would get if you ate your own feces, just like the B12 that some other animals can absorb from their guts. As it's the same stuff, I see no reason to prefer to get that stuff within feces or dirt over a cherry-flavored spray.

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Tasha Newbie

Tasha

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Eating unwashed produce with bits of dirt on it.

Yes like roots vegetables, make sure they're organic though.. Also Seaweed and vega all have B12.. Which isn't really realible unless you've been doing it for a long time. I know Brendan Brazier doesn't take a supplement. but he's been doing this for 17 yrs..

So I recomand taking a B12 supplement first..

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FormicaLinoleum Newbie

FormicaLinoleum

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I don't see the point of eating unwashed veggies in the hopes that there might be some trace of B12 on there. Why not just take the supplement, which is guaranteed to have B12 in it?? Not only is it a sure source of B12, you even know exactly how much B12 is in each serving. With any other rumored "source" (unwashed veggies, fermented stuff, spirulina, etc.) it's complete guesswork whether they really do contain real B12 and how much they might contain if they do. I don't understand why, if one is attempting to find a source of B12, one would not go for the most obvious and reliable one, which is a supplement.

 

Read this: B12 Informationfrom the Veg Society.

 

Some highlights:

 

The current nutritional consensus is that no plant foods can be relied on as a safe source of vitamin B12.

 

Spirulina, an algae available as a dietary supplement in tablet form, and nori, a seaweed, have both appeared to contain significant amounts of B12 after analysis. However, it is thought that this is due to the presence of compounds structurally similar to B12, known as B12 analogues. These cannot be utilised to satisfy dietary needs. Assay methods used to detect B12 are unable to differentiate between B12 and its analogues, Analysis of possible B12 sources may give false positive results due to the presence of these analogues.

 

Human faeces can contain significant B12. A study has shown that a group of Iranian vegans obtained adequate B12 from unwashed vegetables which had been fertilised with human manure. Faecal contamination of vegetables and other plant foods can make a significant contribution to dietary needs, particularly in areas where hygiene standards may be low. [but do you want to eat veggies that are contaminated with feces??]

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FormicaLinoleum Newbie

FormicaLinoleum

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Yes True.. But you only know what's best for your body.

Not everyone elses.

 

The question was what are good, natural, vegan sources of B12. I responded that the most reliable source of B12 is definitely a supplement. We know that the supplements contain B12. A person cannot know whether the organic root vegetables he/she has bought contain any B12. (And it most likely does not.)

 

If you want to get B12, a supplement is far and away the superior source. What reason is there not to use a supplement?

 

Unwashed root veggies are safe if it's organic.

Yes, that's true. But the question is whether they supply any B12.

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Zack Newbie

Zack

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Yes True.. But you only know what's best for your body.

Not everyone elses.

Unwashed root veggies are safe if it's organic.

 

I don't agree with that, they are handled in the same way as non-organic, and it's not only in the fields where damage can be done. People that handle produce, places where it's stored. Things like that can contaminate it with hepatitis A, salmonella, and other things. Wash your produce thoroughly, take a b12.

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Tasha Newbie

Tasha

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There's a great B12 spray you can get from Cosmo Vegan Shop. 1 spray once a week and never worry about B12 again!

 

i might have to check that out, i am so miserable at remembering to take vitamins.

 

p.s. topher kombucha is awesome.

 

Yes it is awesome I take it as well. It's the only B12 pill here that isn't tested on animals

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FormicaLinoleum Newbie

FormicaLinoleum

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Yes True.. But you only know what's best for your body.

Not everyone elses.

Unwashed root veggies are safe if it's organic.

 

I don't agree with that, they are handled in the same way as non-organic, and it's not only in the fields where damage can be done. People that handle produce, places where it's stored. Things like that can contaminate it with hepatitis A, salmonella, and other things. Wash your produce thoroughly, take a b12.

I forgot about that--good point. Sometimes there are things in/on the ground that the growers didn't put there, and like Zack pointed out, the veggies generally go through a lot between the growing and the getting home to your place. There was the whole e coli spinach thing that was caused by runoff from a factory farm contaminating fields. And just imagine how many people have touched your food! I know I feel up a lot of fruit and veg in the store that I don't take. It might not be deadly, but you could get other people's germs.

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  • 4 months later...
LongTimeVegan Newbie

LongTimeVegan

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I used to drink sugar-free redbull all the time, but then I read some really scary stuff about the ill effects of consuming aspartame (the artificial sweetner in sugar-free redbull). What sealed the deal for me is that Donald Rumsfeld said that he would "call in his markers" to get aspartame approved by the FDA after they initially banned it. (google "aspartame donald rumsfeld" to learn more about this).

 

I am not saying you should or shouldn't consume aspartame, but I do recommend that anyone consuming it should definitely take the time to research it's side effects if you haven't already.

 

-Chris

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hsorlando Newbie

hsorlando

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I had a red bull one time, and I didn't like the way it made me feel. I actually got all jittery, and was shaking a bit. So I figured if it did that to me, it wasn't a good thing and I never had another one. I don't think it was the sugar free one, but I don't think aspartame is good for people, and I never liked the taste of it anyway.

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