Plant-forward diets are growing in popularity thanks to their numerous health benefits, but whether you choose to go flexitarian, vegetarian, or vegan, there’s one potential complication you should be aware of. . Vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 is essential for many important functions, and with a few exceptions, the only way to get vitamin B12 is through animal foods or vitamin B12 supplements.
“Vitamin B12 is an essential water-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in helping the brain and nervous system function,” says Ashley Kitchens, RDN, Plant Centered Nutrition. “It supports the formation of red blood cells and helps maintain the myelin sheath, which protects the nerves.” It also plays a role in the production of DNA, which helps prevent birth defects during pregnancy, says a registered dietitian at Real Nutrition in New York. , added Amy Shapiro of CDN.
B12 is involved in bone metabolism and mineralization, so it’s especially important for women who are at risk for bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
Your body absorbs B12 from food through a multi-step process. First, hydrochloric acid in the stomach separates the B12 from the proteins to which it was initially bound. B12 then binds to intrinsic factor, a protein produced in the stomach, and the body absorbs them together. Most Americans get plenty of vitamin B12 through their diet, but there are some notable exceptions (older Americans are especially at risk because they have low intrinsic factor, and some information According to sources, up to 43% of people may be deficient in vitamin B12). .
One of vitamin B12’s superpowers, Kitchens points out, is that it’s the only water-soluble vitamin that can be stored in the human body, and can remain stored in the liver for years. This is why you may not notice any deficiency symptoms for the first few years on a vegan or vegetarian diet, but once your stores are depleted you begin to experience fatigue, weakness, and other signs.
cause
Eating a diet free of animal products, plant-based fortification products, and supplements is one way to deplete vitamin B12 in your body, but there are other reasons why your body may not be getting enough vitamin B12. .
symptoms
“A growing body of research supports that vitamin B12 deficiency can cause physical and neurological symptoms, and may also cause psychological problems,” Shapiro says.
A list of potential symptoms includes:
- Malaise
- muscle weakness
- nausea
- Weight loss
- irritation
- depression
- Difficulty walking
- increased heart rate
- Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
- Mouth and tongue hurt
How can I get tested for B12 deficiency?
If your health care provider suspects a vitamin deficiency, he or she will do regular blood tests to check the amount of the vitamin in your blood. If your vitamin B12 level is less than 200 pg/mL, you are considered vitamin B12 deficient.
process
First, ask your health care provider for a blood test to see if you really have a vitamin B12 deficiency. If so, the only way to treat it is to get more B12, either through food, supplements, or intramuscular injections.
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Supplements are available in a variety of forms, including tablets, lozenges, gummies, and liquids. The natural form of B12 found in foods is called methylcobalamin, while the synthetic form found in most supplements is called cyanocobalamin.
“I usually recommend a standalone vitamin B12 supplement because you can easily monitor your intake and stop taking it once the deficiency is corrected,” says Shapiro.
Other frequently asked questions
When is the best time to take B12?
Shapiro added that it’s best to take vitamin B12 in the morning. “Taking vitamin B12 gives you energy and helps prevent sleep disturbances,” he says.
“I typically recommend taking at least 50 μg of vitamin B12 supplements per day in liquid or sublingual form,” says Kitchens. “As we age, our ability to absorb vitamin B12 may decrease, so I often recommend up to 1,000 micrograms per day.”
Good Housekeeping Institute tested over 30 brands of vitamin B12 supplements and selected B12 1000mcg by Nature as the best overall choice and Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw B12 as the best vegan supplement. Most supplements contain much higher amounts than the 2.4 micrograms recommended for adults, but experts say there is no harmful upper limit for vitamins and that any excess that the body doesn’t absorb is passed through the urine. It states that it will only be ejected.
What is the appropriate dosage?
Adults need about 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 per day (one serving of salmon, canned tuna, and ground beef contains this amount), and pregnant and breastfeeding women need a little more. (2.6 and 2.8 micrograms, respectively). Older adults should check with their doctor to see if they need to take higher doses of supplements.
What are the best food sources of B12?
The surest way to get enough vitamin B12 from food is to eat animal products such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy products. “Many animal foods contain sufficient amounts of vitamin B12 because animals acquire vitamin B12 throughout their lives,” Kitchens explains, adding that the feed that livestock consume contains vitamin B12. He added that B12 is often added.
Some of the best value B12s include:
- Beef Liver (3 oz, 70.7 mcg)
- Cooked clams (3 ounces, 17 micrograms)
- Cooked Oysters (3 oz, 14.9 mcg)
- Salmon (3 oz, 2.6 mcg)
- Ground Beef (3 oz, 2.4 micrograms)
- Milk, 2% (1 cup, 1.3 mcg)
- Non-fat plain yogurt (6 oz, 1 mcg)
- Egg (1 large, 0.5μg)
- turkey breast (3 ounces, 0.3 micrograms)
For people who don’t eat animal products, there are ways to get vitamin B12 through food, but they require careful reading of labels and eating large amounts to feel full each day. These include:
- Fortified nutritional yeast (1/4 cup, approximately 15μg)
- Fortified soy milk (1 cup, 3 mcg)
- Fortified Oat Milk (1 cup, 1.2 mcg) |
- Fortified Breakfast Cereal (1 serving, 0.6 mcg)
- Tempeh (1/2 cup, 0.1 mcg)
Marisa Cohen is the editor of Hearst Lifestyle Group’s Health Newsroom and has covered health, nutrition, parenting and culture for dozens of magazines and websites for the past 20 years.
Melissa Prest, a registered dietitian at DCN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition from Rutgers University. Melissa owns Kidney Nutrition Specialists, a nutrition practice specializing in supporting people living with chronic kidney disease, and is a Foundation Dietitian for the National Kidney Foundation of Illinois, where she specializes in disease prevention, health education, and We focus on nutritional counseling.
