Do we really need Vitamin B-12 supplement ?
1 - 20 of 42 Posts
Quote:
If our bodys really need B-12 supplement than that would mean we were meant to have meat if we can't get it through a veggie diet, that's really ironicOriginally Posted by Elijah
Do we really need Vitamin B-12 supplement ?
Yes, it would be kinda risky not to.
I used to think like that, I didn't take vitamins at all because it wasn't nautral and we should get our vitamins from food. I studied nutrition at the time because I wanted that as my career and the sources convinced me not take any vitamins.
B12 was the first one I was convinced to take. To me it has to do with the farming system and not avoiding meat. I have a feeling omnis DO benifit from B12 supplements, otherwise why is it fortified in products not designed for veg*ns?.
I hear if you do a lot of growing your own food that takes care of your needs.
When I was out doing the long trail, I came down with mouth sores. So what do I do?...I didn't bring any vitamin supplements( really bad idea because high nutrition needs and hike food don't mix.) to take care of it. So it's zapping my energy, so I started to think about real natural sources of B vitamins. I ended up gathered dandilion greens and it helped some, at least enough to help me get out.
B12 was the first one I was convinced to take. To me it has to do with the farming system and not avoiding meat. I have a feeling omnis DO benifit from B12 supplements, otherwise why is it fortified in products not designed for veg*ns?.
I hear if you do a lot of growing your own food that takes care of your needs.
When I was out doing the long trail, I came down with mouth sores. So what do I do?...I didn't bring any vitamin supplements( really bad idea because high nutrition needs and hike food don't mix.) to take care of it. So it's zapping my energy, so I started to think about real natural sources of B vitamins. I ended up gathered dandilion greens and it helped some, at least enough to help me get out.
B-12 is not only in meat. There is also in bacterias in the ground of crops. And human in the nature eat sometimes (scracely) meat like many other monkeys. But does it really matter what human eat naturaly ? With B-12 complement we can have a healthy diet avoiding making animal suffer. It's the most important, isn't it ?
Joined
·
821 Posts
B12 should be found in the ground, so you should be able to get it from eating unwashed carrots, greens, potatoes, etc.
Unfortunately, we have poisoned the earth, and it is no longer safe to eat unwashed food.
Take a sublingual B12 supplement. It's much better to be less than completely natural than it is to be sick.
Unfortunately, we have poisoned the earth, and it is no longer safe to eat unwashed food.
Take a sublingual B12 supplement. It's much better to be less than completely natural than it is to be sick.
There are loads of threads on this subject. Doctors on this board recommend regular supplements for vegans. As someone above mentioned that are bacterial, vegan supplements you can take. Conventional advice from provegan sources also recommend supplements such as in:
http://www.veganhealth.org/b12
If you're going to screw around with B12 solutions alternative to the convention, it's your body, but I recommend you get your levels checked regularly, as damage from deficiency can be irreversible.
http://www.veganhealth.org/b12
If you're going to screw around with B12 solutions alternative to the convention, it's your body, but I recommend you get your levels checked regularly, as damage from deficiency can be irreversible.
Joined
·
11,753 Posts
Like MRSSHF said, we did not have to supplement B-12 in the past. Meat isn't the source for b-12, bacteria found in the air and the soil is. The reason meat and other animal products have b-12 is because they eat unwashed grains, produce and even small amounts of dirt.
The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them. If you can't do that, you shouldn't risk either eating unwashed fruits and veggies or not supplementing (or at least eating lots of fortified foods).
I personally take a B-12 supplement a few times a week, I use Red Star vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast as much as I can (3+ times a week) and I drink fortified soymilk about 5 times a week. This way, I don't have to worry about having symptomless (until it's too late) neurological disorders
![]()
The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them. If you can't do that, you shouldn't risk either eating unwashed fruits and veggies or not supplementing (or at least eating lots of fortified foods).
I personally take a B-12 supplement a few times a week, I use Red Star vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast as much as I can (3+ times a week) and I drink fortified soymilk about 5 times a week. This way, I don't have to worry about having symptomless (until it's too late) neurological disorders
Quote:
![]()
Makes more sense thanks guysOriginally Posted by synergy
Like MRSSHF said, we did not have to supplement B-12 in the past. Meat isn't the source for b-12, bacteria found in the air and the soil is. The reason meat and other animal products have b-12 is because they eat unwashed grains, produce and even small amounts of dirt.
The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them. If you can't do that, you shouldn't risk either eating unwashed fruits and veggies or not supplementing (or at least eating lots of fortified foods).
I personally take a B-12 supplement a few times a week, I use Red Star vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast as much as I can (3+ times a week) and I drink fortified soymilk about 5 times a week. This way, I don't have to worry about having symptomless (until it's too late) neurological disorders![]()
Quote:
The "if" and "could probably" in "The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them," leaves plenty of room for failure, and is far from having been proven reliably.
It remains that the only way to know if you're getting sufficient B12 is to get tested, and this is highly recommended for anyone not taking supplements, even if you do grow your own food, or eat clean dirt. I don't think you're recommending otherwise, I just wanted to stress its importance.
Meat is a source of B12 if you eat meat! There are higher concentrations of B12 in meat than in the source from which the animals get it, and just because it is present in certain sources doesn't mean you're getting the absorption you need. I don't quite get your statement "Like MRSSHF said, we did not have to supplement B-12 in the past," when there is no study of vegans and their B12 sources "in the past," to my knowledge (I am genuinely interested, if you can turn me onto a study).Originally Posted by synergy
Like MRSSHF said, we did not have to supplement B-12 in the past. Meat isn't the source for b-12, bacteria found in the air and the soil is. The reason meat and other animal products have b-12 is because they eat unwashed grains, produce and even small amounts of dirt.
The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them. If you can't do that, you shouldn't risk either eating unwashed fruits and veggies or not supplementing (or at least eating lots of fortified foods).
I personally take a B-12 supplement a few times a week, I use Red Star vegetarian support formula nutritional yeast as much as I can (3+ times a week) and I drink fortified soymilk about 5 times a week. This way, I don't have to worry about having symptomless (until it's too late) neurological disorders![]()
The "if" and "could probably" in "The fact is, if you had your own organic garden with good soil that had not been depleted, you could probably get enough B-12 from eating fruits and veggies straight from the garden without washing them," leaves plenty of room for failure, and is far from having been proven reliably.
It remains that the only way to know if you're getting sufficient B12 is to get tested, and this is highly recommended for anyone not taking supplements, even if you do grow your own food, or eat clean dirt. I don't think you're recommending otherwise, I just wanted to stress its importance.
Quote:
Exactly what I was about to say.Originally Posted by MRSSHF
B12 should be found in the ground, so you should be able to get it from eating unwashed carrots, greens, potatoes, etc.
Unfortunately, we have poisoned the earth, and it is no longer safe to eat unwashed food.
Take a sublingual B12 supplement. It's much better to be less than completely natural than it is to be sick.
Joined
·
11,753 Posts
Quote:
I also, unfortunately have not come across any scientific studies on the topic of vegan B12 intake 'in the past', although if I were looking, I would probably start with Jain communities in India to see if there were reports of symptoms that could indicate B12 deficiencies. It would be inconclusive, but it could give us some anecdotal evidence which is probably as good as we are going to get, save for the invention of time machines.
I was paraphrasing from the info I had previously found in sources written by dieticians, such as Brenda Davis and Melina Vesanto.
Quote:
![]()
Quote:
![]()
B12 deficiency is so scary, I don't think anyone should take the chance.
I didn't mean to imply that meat wasn't a source of B-12, just that it's not the only source, and that animals are in fact, ingesting it.Originally Posted by nigel
Meat is a source of B12 if you eat meat! There are higher concentrations of B12 in meat than in the source from which the animals get it, and just because it is present in certain sources doesn't mean you're getting the absorption you need. I don't quite get your statement "Like MRSSHF said, we did not have to supplement B-12 in the past," when there is no study of vegans and their B12 sources "in the past," to my knowledge (I am genuinely interested, if you can turn me onto a study).
I also, unfortunately have not come across any scientific studies on the topic of vegan B12 intake 'in the past', although if I were looking, I would probably start with Jain communities in India to see if there were reports of symptoms that could indicate B12 deficiencies. It would be inconclusive, but it could give us some anecdotal evidence which is probably as good as we are going to get, save for the invention of time machines.
I was paraphrasing from the info I had previously found in sources written by dieticians, such as Brenda Davis and Melina Vesanto.
Quote:
Exactly why I said probably
Quote:
I completely agree
B12 deficiency is so scary, I don't think anyone should take the chance.
I was vegan for four years.. I've been vegetarian for 3 now. I think I must've been much more consciencious when I was vegan (other than having an ED for 6 mo. at one point), because I never had a b12 deficiency.. I used to get my blood checked a lot (for other reasons, but I checked nonetheless). However, I just found out last week while I was in treatment that I had a significant b12 deficiency in my blood tests. The doctors was like, are your vegetarian, and I ws like, yeah, and he said, are you vegan? and I said, no, but I eat very little dairy/eggs; probably only a couple times a week. And he said that my deficiency could be related to my energy problems, depression, etc. Luckily he was a very nice doctor and didn't tell me to go eat a steak.. instead he pointed me out to the under the tongue supplement at my local Co Op. So far I haven't seen myself feeling any different being on the supplement, but then again, I was happy to know about the deficiency given all the horrors I've heard about the b12 deficiencies in the body. I related my deficiency to an overall lack of care of my body.. so if anything, I am glad I know about the deficiency, because it has caused me to take time to listen to my body's needs more.
Joined
·
12,384 Posts
Veganism is a possible diet for us -- I am vegan, but it's not the natural diet for us. That's why we need the B12 supplement. "Natural" and "good" are not synonymous as people make them out to be.
Joined
·
529 Posts
Does anybody know exacly how much B12 we're suppsoed to have in a day?
The soya milk I have says it has added B12, but since I only have it about once a day on my cereal in the morning I was wondering if that would be enough?
The soya milk I have says it has added B12, but since I only have it about once a day on my cereal in the morning I was wondering if that would be enough?
Joined
·
155 Posts
I was wondering the same. I went and bought a B12 (sublingual) supplement and it makes me sick
![]()
So now I have no idea where to get my B12 from. I have some fortified nut. yeast but our (aussie) rice milks aren't B12 fortified and I'm soy allergic so can't have those either (and no, I don't garden so can't eat my own veges). Anyone have any idea's for me?
Joined
·
29,962 Posts
wildtigercubs..have you tried another brand perhaps? I've never heard of anyone getting sick from B12 supplements. You could try some supplemented food, as mentioned, though as well.
wrt "natural" and "good". I agree that they are not always one and the same, but...in past generations (ages ago), humans ate a lot more dirt, etc. on their food that do we clean freaks today. So, it's not necessarily that we weren't meant to eat vegan, but that we were meant to get bacteria in a different way.
(no, I'm not suggesting that we need to eat dirt)
wrt "natural" and "good". I agree that they are not always one and the same, but...in past generations (ages ago), humans ate a lot more dirt, etc. on their food that do we clean freaks today. So, it's not necessarily that we weren't meant to eat vegan, but that we were meant to get bacteria in a different way.
(no, I'm not suggesting that we need to eat dirt)
1 - 20 of 42 Posts
