Why Do Vegans Need Vitamin B12?
There’s always a subtle buzz about vitamin B12 in the vegan world.
How do you consume it?
What kind do you get?
How much do we need?
These are some of the questions asked in vegan communities about B12 on a regular basis.
When you’re a new vegan, B12 is typically one of the first things people tell you to add to your health regimen.
Vitamin B12 is one of the most important supplements to take as a vegan, if not the most.
But, with this information, you may be wondering:
What is B12?
Why is it so important?
What’s the right kind to take?
And, how much B12 do I need?
Let’s find out, shall we?!
WHAT IS VITAMIN B12?
As I mentioned, vitamin B12 is crucial for a vegan diet.
I’ll even go one step further to say that it’s non-negotiable.
Vitamin B12 is a microbe that naturally blankets the earth. It is not made from plants.
Our ancestors, the ones who roamed the earth naked and ate from the earth wherever they could, found food that was untainted by the processes of modern civilization.
In today’s world, we eat food that is sterilized, cleaned, and often stripped of the chance to absorb nature’s most important vitamins.
Of course, the more processed our foods, the less likely B12 will be in it.
But for those of you wondering if being a plant-based vegan is enough for your B12 consumption, I can tell you confidently that it’s not.
After years of repetitive, annual, and seasonal growing, our earth is not the same. Even if you’re growing organically, the soil is not likely to have levels of vitamin B12 as it once did.
The reason that meat eaters are so confident that they consume enough B12 over vegans is because farm-raised animals are typically injected with a B12 supplement to ensure their meat supply contains a decent amount for humans once they’re eaten.
Yes, wild animals roaming natural, untainted landscapes may have grazed to consume enough B12 from the earth for a hunter to get a sufficient supply when eating it, but hunting is not a common practice amongst your everyday, modern meat eaters.
If you are vegan, the fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds you eat are nearly guaranteed to not have enough vitamin B12 in it.
If you drink from naturally occurring, fresh water streams, then B12 may be in that water source.
But, with chlorinated water running to our homes, the B12 is gone before it hits our faucets.
The good news about that is we no longer get cholera, which was quite the problem back in the day.
So, if you’re basically a normal person living in normal society today (and not out in the bush drinking from streams or gathering wild figs), you need to take a supplement for it.
No, ifs, ands, or buts, my friend.
WHY IS VITAMIN B12 SO IMPORTANT?
Now that you know what vitamin B12 is and where it comes from, let’s talk about WHY you need to take it.
Vitamin B12 is critical for you as a human.
Critical.
Vitamin B12 deficiency has been linked to some horrible effects on the human body.
Some of B12 deficiencies have been linked to:
Paralysis
Psychosis
Blindness
Death
Yep, I am trying to scare you into taking B12, because the effects of not taking it regularly are scary!
(Also, I’m just stating facts….and the facts are pretty terrifying, too!)
Several scientific studies are hypothesizing that some people suffering from alzheimers or dementia may have had a vitamin B12 deficiency throughout their lives, which has led to the deterioration of their brain over time.
“Newborn infants of mothers who eat a plant-based diet and who fail to supplement can develop deficiency much more rapidly with disastrous results.”
The vitamin B12 supplement that I take, that came highly recommended, has this stated on the back of it’s label:
“Vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) is a water soluble vitamin and necessary for the maintenance of a healthy nervous system and for the production of energy from fats and proteins.* Vitamin B-12 is also essential for the synthesis of DNA during cell division and therefore is especially important for rapidly multiplying cells, such as blood cells.* In addition, adequate intake of vitamin B-12, along with folic acid and vitamin B-6, is critical for the conversion of homocysteine to methionine, thereby supporting a healthy cardiovascular system.* While B-12 is stored in the liver, dietary sources are of animal origin only (meat and dairy). Therefore, supplementation with B-12 may be especially important for strict vegetarians.”
Then it notes: “*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”
WHAT’S THE RIGHT KIND OF VITAMIN B12 TO TAKE?
First, I’ll tell you that you cannot take too much vitamin B12.
Yep, the good news is that you cannot overdose on it.
According to Dr. Michael Gregor, all you can do is take so much B12 that it makes your pee more expensive!
However, vitamin B12 supplements aren’t actually that expensive, so you won’t be wasting too much money.
Your body will absorb what it needs for its supply, then you’ll release the rest through your urine.
So, what’s the right kind of B12 to take?
The general options you have are:
Tablets
Drops
Injections
Some people absorb B12 easily through tablets, while others cannot absorb it through anything but injections.
I’m not a doctor here, but what I’ve found in my research is that droplets are the most effective way for an average person to absorb the vitamin.
To tell if you’re getting enough B12, you’ll need to go for a blood test and specifically ask them to check your B12 levels.
If they’re at a healthy level, carry on with droplets.
If they’re not, consult your doctor about injections.
Dr. Michael Gregor (can you tell I love his work?) says that cyanocobalamin is the preferred vitamin B12. You may also find methylcobalamin, but the Doc says “there is insufficient evidence to support the efficacy of other forms.”
So, when shopping for vitamin B12 supplements, you want to buy cyanocobalamin.
HOW MUCH VITAMIN B12 DO I NEED TO TAKE?
If you’re younger than 65 years, Dr. Gregor recommends taking at least one 2,500 mcg supplement every week.
If you’re like me and prefer to take it daily to create a sustainable habit, you should take 250 mcg every day.
The older you get, the harder it is for your body to absorb vitamin B12.
So, as you age, you may need to increase your dosage to 2,500 mcg/week or 1,000 mcg daily.
I’ve found that my body absorbs vitamin B12 best through a liquid supplement, so I use a dropper to squeeze it into my mouth and under my tongue (where they say it absorbs directly to your bloodstream).
I let it stay under my tongue for 30 seconds, then swallow.
It’s recommended to take your B12 supplement with food however you consume it.
Lastly, I want to make sure I cover my bases and let you know that it is possible to consume sufficient amounts of vitamin B12 on a vegan diet without supplements.
In order to make this possible, you’d need to consume vitamin B12-fortified foods.
“...you would have to eat three servings a day of foods providing at least 25 percent of the Daily Value (on the Nutrition Facts label), with each serving eaten at least four to six hours after the last.”
Nutritional yeast is a great example of a B12-fortified food, but are you willing to eat two teaspoons of it with breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
If not, stay safe and take a supplement.