[193] in Vegetarian_Support_Group
Here's an article I picked up from rec.food.veg
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (wendymas@acs.bu.edu)
Thu Oct 6 22:34:27 1994
Date: Thu, 6 Oct 1994 22:31:23 -0400
From: wendymas@acs.bu.edu
To: vsg@MIT.EDU
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
From: abulsari@aton.abo.fi (A. Bulsari)
Subject: Vitamin B12: Facts for vegetarians (repost)
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 1994 12:52:56 GMT
I got this from Michael Traub a few months back, who probably got it
from Ferrell Wheeler.
VITAMIN B12: FACTS FOR VEGETARIANS
* Vegetarians and B12
Vegetarian foods are easily the most healthful. Vegetarians live
longer, have less heart disease, less cancer, less risk of stroke, and
less of other serious illnesses compared to meat-eaters. Vegetarian
meals provide adequate levels of all nutrients--with the possible
exception of vitamin B12. B12 is critical in the formation of red
blood cells and the function of the nervous system. B12 deficiency is
rare. The body has several years' worth stored at any given time.
* Traditional Sources of B12
B12 is not made by animals or plants; it is made solely by
microorganisms, such as bacteria and algae. Some of the B12-developing
organisms may remain on vegetables consumed by people, producing a
small amount of the vitamin. Traditional Asian miso and tempeh, made
>from soybeans, also contain enormous amounts of B12 because of the
microorganisms used during manufacture. But improved hygiene and
modern processing methods have all but eliminated these traditional
sources of B12 from the industrialized nations' diet. Meat- eaters'
source of B12 is bacteria living in the digestive tracts of the
animals they eat. The vitamin works its way into the animals' muscles,
organs, and milk.
* Getting the Vitamin
For those who abstain from eating animal products, special care
in getting enough B12 is recommended. Fortunately, this is very easy.
B12 is in all common multivitamin tablets, and many foods are enriched
with B12. These include many breakfast cereals, fortified nutritional
yeast, and fortified soy milk. Some supplements, such as spirulina,
are purported to contain B12, but actually contain none at all. On
vitamins or food labels, look for B12 by its chemical name:
cyanocobalamin. The Recommended Daily Allowance is two micrograms per
day, but experts believe only one microgram per day is sufficient.1
There is no known risk in consuming too much B12, but high doses are
not necessary or recommended.
By far, the most common cause of B12 problems is not the lack of
the vitamin in the diet, but a problem in absorbing it, caused by a
lack of a chemical in the body called the intrinsic factor. Doctors
can easily test whether a person has a normal ability to absorb B12.
For those who do not, no amount of the vitamin in foods will help, and
periodic injections of B12 are necessary.
Reference:
1. Herbert V. Vitamin B12: plant sources, requirements and assay. Am J Clin
Nutr 1988;48:852-58.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
P.O. Box 6322
Washington, DC 20015
(202) 686-2210
