The B12 vitamin : the key to veganism

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Category: Vitamin B12
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Representation of a R-cobalamin molecule

Représentation of the vitamin B12 molecule above

Points addressed :

  1. Essential informations
  2. Vitamin B12 deficiency
    1. Symptoms of deficiency
    2. Diagnosing a B12 deficiency
    3. Cure in case of suspected or confirmed B12 deficiency

What every vegan and any person going towards a plant-based diet (flexitarian, vegetarian, vegetalian) must know

Researches have shown that plants contain all essential nutrients for humans except one : the vitamin B12. But there is a good news.

All B12 vitamin available in the food chains come from a production from micro-organisms. No known plant or animal can produce it. The first does not need it, the later gets it directly or indirectly from bacteria because it needs it.

The B12 vitamin and its bacterian origin were discovered on the 12th of December 1947 (by Edward Rickes, researcher at New-York). Thanks to this discovery, human can do the culture of bacterias to get the B12 from its primary source. Thus, from 1948, Humanity can be vegan and live as long in good health.

B12 vitamin is vital to our body.

IMPORTANT : Every person Following a vegan or vegetalian diet must take a supplement of vitamin B12. Despite some speculations, it is not possible and it has never been possible for humans to get their B12 endogeneously (that is from flora of the digestive system) or through soil or water. Calculations have been made by the Vegan Federation in France and one would need to eat 7 kilograms of pesticide-free soil per day or drink 100 liters of unpolluted water per day to have a chance to get enough B12, and these quantities would just kill us (source in french).

The recommended form of vitamin B12 for supplementation is cyanocobalamin. Indeed, there is no superiority of any of the four forms of vitamin B12 (cobalamin being the main and common part of the molecule) that are bioavailable for humans (adenosylcobalamin or AdoCbl, cyanocobalamin or CNCbl, hydroxylcobalamine or HOCbl, methylcobalamine or MeCbl), and cyanocobalamin is the more stable form among them, so it is the most reliable for supplementation. It is also the less costly to produce, since the other forms in supplements are made from cyanocobalamin (source : comparative study). It is an error to think that some forms would be more active : eventhough some forms are used in our body, the intakes are never used directly, the adeno-, cyano-, hydroxyl-, methyl- parts are first cut off the cobalamin main part, then the site using the vitamin B12 will add the terminal bond it wants.

Quantities of vitamin B12 to take :

IMPORTANT : it is highly recommended for vegetarians and flexitarians to take a supplement of vitamin B12, as per the instructions above for vegans, because it is easy to not get enough B12 from only dairy products, knowing that eggs are not a reliable source of B12 (source - one would need to eat around 30 eggs a day) and there is no toxic level of vitamin B12 in oral supplementation (source EFSA).

The vitamin B12 deficiency

Symptoms

The B12 vitamin being part of many important processes (formation of blood cells, protection of both central and peripheral nervous sytems, repair and synthesis of DNA, recycling of wastes from our cells), there is a large range of symptoms that can be linked to a vitamin B12 deficiency, without being specific to it :

(source in french)

Vitamin B12 deficiency can remain asymptomatic for a more or less long time, despite some deteriorations already in progress.There is a myth about having a stock of B12 for 4 years. Actually, deficiency occurs even within a few months, it is not fixed from one person to another. The more we wait to supplement, the more degradations we will suffer and more time it will take to recover with increasing risks of irreversibility. One must never rely on the hepatic stocks and we must supplement ourselves systematically as soon as we head sensibly towards a plant-based diet.

Diagnosing a B12 deficiency

The indicated analysis, in case of none supplementation or symptoms of deficiency despite some supplementation (probably related to absorption problems or inadequate way of supplementation), is the methylmalonic acid test of urines. Indeed, the other methods can be not reliable. Thus, for example, a direct B12 blood test, with people on a plant-based diet, can miss a B12 deficiency and showing a normal result instead, because people who are reluctant to complementation tend to consume some sources of vitamin B12 analogues (B12-like molecules non active for humans) that distort the result. Another method, blood homocysteine ​​level analysis can also be skewed by high consumption of folate sources. (source in french)

Cure for B12 deficiency

In order to quickly increase the vitamin B12 stocks and to get rid or reduce symptoms that would be linked to vitamin B12 deficiency, we can recommend a cure period, with one of the following dosages :

Once the cure is completed, the normal supplementation must continue for life (as indicated here).

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