Have you recently switched to a plant-based diet? If not, someone you know probably does. The number of vegetarians and vegans is rapidly increasing, with an estimated 7 per cent of people in the UK and 5 per cent in the US not eating meat. But for this growing group, there’s a double-edged sword to contend with. It’s a diet that’s kind to the planet, but not so kind to your immune system.
No, it’s not about protein, but vitamin B12 – one in five people on vegan and vegetarian diets are understandably deficient in the micronutrient. Deficiency rates only increase with age, and are even higher in people who transition from vegetarian to vegan diets, where vitamin B12 levels are already low.
And that’s a big problem. B12, also known as cobalamin, is an important vitamin in blood cell formation, cell metabolism, nerve function, and DNA production. In other words, it is necessary for every cell in your body. Living without these unsung micronutrients can have devastating and lifelong irreversible neurological consequences.
Supplements and certain foods may help solve the problem, but the picture is somewhat clouded by an unregulated market and lack of clear research. So what’s the best solution? Science says…
High risk of vitamin B12 deficiency
The problem is that vitamin B12 is specifically found only in products of animal origin. This includes fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and other dairy products. Beef and fish are particularly high in vitamin B12, as is lamb liver (which contains more than 3,000 percent of your required vitamin B12 intake).
Animals often become infected by absorbing B12, which they synthesize by eating fertilizers containing bacteria or unsanitary water sources. Humans cannot absorb B12 from bacteria (and we don’t recommend trying to).
However, even if you eat meat, you may not be getting enough. For example, this vitamin is found in small amounts in chicken breast and most pork. To reach the daily recommended 2.4 mcg (0.0000024 grams) of vitamin B12, he would need to eat 24 pieces of bacon a day. B12 is also found in dairy products, but in much lower concentrations and contains only trace amounts of the vitamin.
There is some evidence that certain mushrooms, algae, and similar food sources may contain vitamin B12. However, researchers note that this is not reliable enough as a single source of information. Among the plant foods that provide vitamin B12, seaweed is the best.
That means if you’re not eating meat (or the right kind of meat), you can easily miss your daily vitamin B12 goal. And when your body is deficient in this important vitamin, you are at increased risk of folate deficiency anemia. This is a condition specifically caused by vitamin B12 deficiency, where the body does not have enough healthy red blood cells to properly supply oxygen to body tissues.
Studies vary on the proportion of people who suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency, and scientists disagree on what actually qualifies as a deficiency. Therefore, the prevalence of vegans is between 5 and 52 percent, while the prevalence among vegetarians is between 6 and 14 percent.
Symptoms include rapid breathing and shortness of breath, headaches, indigestion, loss of appetite, blurred vision, diarrhea, incontinence, mild depression or anxiety, and memory problems.
But that’s not the most worrying part. “When this clinical deficiency develops, the system by which the body absorbs and internalizes vitamin B12 effectively malfunctions,” says Precision Nutrition reader and vitamin B12 expert at the University of Surrey. Dr. Kourosh Ahmadi says:
“Then you won’t be able to benefit from supplements or foods because your body lacks the mechanism to get the vitamin into your body. The only solution is to inject large amounts of vitamin B12 directly into your muscles.”
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Depending on how long it takes to receive a diagnosis and begin treatment, some of these symptoms, especially those of the nervous system, may not be reversible. At this stage, no amount of injections will be enough.
“Returning physiological symptoms to a functional level takes 8 to 12 weeks after symptoms appear and injections are administered every other day. Beyond that, symptoms similar to long-term COVID-19 infection become established and cannot be treated. There is enough evidence to suggest that there will be no law,” Ahmadi said..
There are even greater concerns for those experiencing pregnancy. A lack of vitamin B12 can increase your baby’s risk of developing a birth defect known as a neural tube defect. This is a condition in which the neural tube (the small passageway that eventually becomes the brain and spinal cord) does not close and becomes susceptible to damage by amniotic fluid.
There are currently no UK guidelines for the treatment of vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy and no specific dosage recommendations at this time. However, pregnant women are told to try to get about the same amount of vitamin B12 as is required for all adults.
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How can a plant-based diet provide vitamin B12?
So what should vegetarians and vegans do if there is an important vitamin that only exists in animals? Should they start eating meat again?
“Unfortunately, there is little research in this area at the moment, but the current advice for a vegan diet is to take a daily vitamin B12 supplement. The key here is to find the right type,” says Ahmadi. says Mr.
“Ninety percent of vitamin B12 is produced in China, and since COVID-19, manufacturing costs have become very high. The problem is that it is only expensive if it is manufactured correctly. There is no market for it. There are many vitamin B12 supplements available, ranging from incredibly cheap to vegan-friendly and usually quite expensive.
To create vegan-friendly supplements, the bacteria that animals eat are grown in large tanks that mimic their natural environment. Once the bacteria produce vitamin B12, it is isolated from the culture and purified.
So how can you find a good supplement? The current advice is to look for the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) label, which is a UN-backed standard. These can be a little expensive, but their effectiveness is guaranteed.
In addition to regularly using effective vitamin B12 tablets, anyone following a plant-based diet is encouraged to utilize fortified foods. These are products where the manufacturer has added additional micronutrients to the product during production. This includes a variety of milk alternatives, yogurts, drinks, and even cereals. However, these do contain vitamin B12, but probably only in trace amounts.
“Research shows that many of these foods in supermarkets are not sufficiently fortified. They may even contain substandard B12. Some of these products are very Some are expensive and often not as healthy as advertised,” says Ahmadi.
For plant-based diets, vitamin B12 consumption is determined by these two factors. GMP approved supplements and properly fortified foods. If you’re a vegetarian, milk, eggs, and other dairy products also provide small amounts of B12 in your diet.
Although the risk of deficiency is frightening, it is highly avoidable even in those who begin to show symptoms.
“If you’re infected, diagnosed and managed during that period (8 to 12 weeks after symptoms start), you’ll almost always get back to the level of functioning you had before,” Ahmadi says.
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About our expert Kourosh Ahmadi
Mr. Ahmadi is a national and international leader in precision nutrition and an expert on vitamin B12 and the risks of its deficiency.
