vitamin b12 question

i've been vegetarian for 10 years, vegan for 2 and been vitamin b12 deficiant for a while now..
considering b12 is only found in animals and dairy products, I have been wondering where the supplement actually comes from, be it injection or tablets.. cos if it came from an animal this would not be vegan at all..
Ive searched the net looking for answers but havernt found anything.

Does anybody know? And is anyone else vegan and b12 deficiant? (u must be!)

 

sorry i am not much use....i am vegan- been one for about 4 years and i am not deficent in B12 or iron- not according to blood tests. I do not know where the B12 comes from ..i have never heard of it being a problem for vegans so i assumed it was not made from animals. I mostly take a B vitamin pill and drink fortified soy milk to get it. I hope you get it sorted out.take care

 

I found this. Seems like marmite or nutritional yeast would be good to add to your diet.

 

B12 actually comes from bacteria which is why dairy products are good for it. The micro-organisms that help make b12 also present in soil which I think is why there seems to be a depletion because soil these days is so stripped of nutrients. A while back I read about a group of Iranian vegans who used their own faeces as a fertilizer which prevented them from B12 deficiency as B12 can be manufactored in the colon and this then leaves the body in poo!

Some people (even vegans) never have a deficiency but some do and it's more likely that it's an inablility to absorb the vitamin properly (as I seem to have). It's important to have the following vits & mins. to aid b12.....all B complex, Vit A, C, E, potassium, manganese, sodium and zinc.

Saying all that, I've been veggie for 16 years and only in the last year have I become anaemic but I'm not sure if it's an iron deficiency or b12 although my body's not absorbing most stuff so I'm low in just about everything! I've been taking a liquid b12 as I hate pills but there are loads around that will say that they're suitable for veggies or vegans.

If you're diet is good then I'd look further and see if you're lacking anything else. If it's not great then fortified foods like cereals or marmite, brewers yeast would be the first step I'd take.

 

I have heard that vitamin B12 can also be found in several vegetables, though I do not remember which ones.

 

Well, I always thought it was but apparently some peeps think that it's totally absent from vegetable sources because it's water soluble. But some believe it can be found in small amounts in seaweeds and sprouts, which kinda contradicts the water soluble thing. Who knows? I'm sure scientists make it up as they go along!

 

an adult human only needs one microgram of B12 a day. if you used to eat meat you may never need to take B12 vitamins because your liver stores B12.

heres some other sources of B12, non-animal sources.

brewers yeast, bakers yeast, rice bran, wheat grem, sunflower seeds, cornflakes, pinon nuts, soy milk, sesame seeds, brazil nuts, peanuts, edible seaweed, hijiki, wakame, mushrooms, nutritional yeast, tempeh, miso, syrup, sour dough bread, parsely, beer, cider, wine, yeast, and tofu.

i copied this from a book i just bought called "animal ingrediens A to Z" by the E.G. smith collective.

so NO you do NOT have to eat meat to get B12. HOORAY!

 

Great thread! I've learned a lot.
I've also heard that airborne yeast (which is found everywhere) leaves B12 on fruit skins. So if you grow your own fruit (pesticide-free), don't wash it.

 

All the B12 in nature is produced by microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, and algae; plants and animals cannot synthesise the vitamin. Animal foods are sources of B12 because animals ingest B12-containing micro-organisms or because they are able to absorb some of the B12 produced by their intestinal bacteria. Plant foods may contain some B12 if they are contaminated with B12-containing bacteria. In Australia and other developed countries, it is likely that most or all of this B12 is removed when the food is washed and prepared. [taken from Vegetarian Network Victoria website)


Bummer. So I guess supplements or added b12 in fortified foods would come from the plant's fungi not from animals then, does that seem right?

 

Yep, sounds about right or it's specifically developed from bacteria. Or someone's scrapes out animal intestines. My guess is it's not the latter.

 

yogurt is dairy, and soy yogurt is revolting! but thanks

 

almost all vegan or vegetarian imitation foods have non animal based sources of these in them, and they supplement you with wayyyyy morethan you need i think, so it has consumer attraction, their very good though usually, so its not hard to eat them relatively regularly...

btw- i have never seen vitamin b12 listed on dairy products, whats up with that???

 

Hi everybody !,
Vegetarian people who still eat some products like milk and its derivates, don't need the vitamin b12 integration , while vegans do.
I am vegan and I take once a week the vitamin b12 , I use the sublingual pills by Phoenix (LongLifeB12 ).

 

I get the the Nature Made Super B-complex supplements which I believe are sufficient for vegans. Any B-12 derived from plants or other items will have to obtained in large consumptions.

 

eat kale

 

I've been vegan for about 14 years, and the one thing I have noticed is the significant improvement in my athletic performance. The year I went vegan, I shaved 12% of my time in the cross country ski marathon. The improvement stuck over subsequent years, too.

The idea of the vegan as weak, pale or malnourished is a myth.

 

ALFALFA, meaning "father of all foods" in Arabic for guessable reasons. It is high in almost all nutrients including B12. It and brown rice are my multivitamins. Brown rice is high in Bs, but I'm not sure if it has B12.

 

Kale is a vegetable and does not contain B12

 

Some soy milk is vitamin B-12 fortified. Some cereals too . Like rasin bran but I'm but sure if rasin bran is vegan. Multi grain cheerios are vitamin b-12 fortified. Some vegeatbles have vitamin B-12. Usually dark green ones I can't remember their names. I don't have my fact sheet with me as of now ^^. Sorry if I didn't help. I doubt I did.
Edit: I think kale does. Fuck what finger mouse says.