Vitamin B12 (and yoga masters among others)

[Free1]

Some people say it is not true vegans become depleted of B12, and Gary Yourofsky claims to have normal values after 16 years on the diet. The quote ascribed to him, and floating around the internet, can be found here, but I can not find the real source: http://pixellant.com/adaptt/vitamins...als-nutrients/

What I have understood the more advanced yoga practitioners eat a vegan diet (or they claim it is a sign of their level of spirituality), and have done so for thousands of years, but how does it relate to the modern view that long term vegans are suffering from lack of B12. It does not fit.

Anyone with more insight?

Searching the internet I find opposing views (and we all know science has reached wrong conclusions before, and even more been misinterpreted).

[PassionOfHybrid]

vegans suffering from a lack of B12 is a generalization.

For those who started out on a meat diet, but changed to a plant based diet later on, still may contain B12 within there body.

There's a big misconception on where B12 comes from. B12 can be contained by animals(if they consume it), yes, but the vitamin comes from a bacteria, not the animal. So the source of where B12 comes from can be obtained from dirt. The thing is, animals and humans can secrete this vitamin in their body.So they won't need large amounts, anyway.Vegetables and fruits that contain B12 only provide B12 analogues, which is just smaller amounts of B12. If you lack b12, eat an extra amount to sustain it.


Mothers to be, on a plant-based diet, would have to consume an abundance of B12, so the baby can secrete enough of this vitamin to support the nervous system.

This is just from my own research. And not listening to the biased sources.

[Free1]

Thanks. I have been looking around and found the same information.

People got B12 in the old times because they lived closer to the nature but it is different in our modern society, it is said.

Then there are the ideas that the body manufactures it by itself.

The research used to support the claiming that vegan diet leads to depleted state of B12 is criticized for not at all supporting the conclusions media makes.

I understand the science is not stable in this area, and many of the studies, it seems, examined people who had general malnutrition and not just b12 deficiency. Also "vegan" junk diet has not been ruled out always.

Some compare the risk of b12 deficiency to be very small (near to non existent) compared to the health risks involved with eating animals and their products.

http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/why-...tamin-b12.html

http://jacknorrisrd.com/response-to-...ncy-is-a-myth/

This is one such area where science seems to get political, and where science is not really sure yet.

Still, the vegan diet for yoga masters puzzles me, or that a vegan diet is said to come natural with progress. (I it is true)

[Silver]

I think the gurus back in the day were mostly all male and may be the case in this present. I know that the soil has been depleted of so much now and therefore is a more serious problem getting the b12 and lots of other minerals and nutrients from plants. There's the argument about humans weren't or were supposed to have this or that type of diet based on the design of our teeth and digestive system.

There is a case I feel, for not restricting when a woman is pregnant because B12 and//or other B vitamins can cause spina bifida where the babys are born with portions of their spinal column are outside of the body - my ex's sister died at a young age from it.

[Free1]

I have understood there is a great debat over if vegan diet is natural diet for humans, and found this: http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html
which I found interesting, but am not in position to determine if it is inclusive of all relevant data.

Yes, the b12 and pregnancy is better to take seriously. Or better safe then sorry.

[Free1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K36Zu0pA4U

Here is where he talks about B12, at 27:02

[Free1]

Found this carefully written open letter, signed by some big players, and respected groups within the vegan community (what I get, by a short review):

http://veganhealth.org/articles/everyvegan

[Free1]

B12 is not only a problem for vegans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG-7cztLRgc

[Debrah]

I'm going to resurrect this thread because this is an important issue and I have a dispute with Gary Yourofsky's comments regarding B12.

He's right, we make B12 in our bodies. The problem is, we grow it in the part of the colon where there is NO ability to absorb it. The little multiplying bacteria colonize in the part of the colon where feces collects and for obvious reasons, you would not want to be absorbing anything from that part of the body. So we excrete the B12 that our bodies are making.

The absorption part of the process for us, occurs just after the stomach, in the part of the colon called the ileum. From there it moves into the bloodstream, travels through the body looking for B12 receptors in the organs. Some of that B12 is taken up by those organs, some is stored in our tissue and primarily our livers and some is flushed out in our urine.

The animals also make B12 in that same part of their bodies, excrete it just as we do, but because they are scratching around in dirt or manure, they are constantly resupplying themselves with that bacteria via their food and foraging. Cattle are different. Because they have four stomachs and ferment their food, B12 takes up residence in their stomachs and populates it and they are able to continually absorb B12 in the 'front' portion of their intestine. Even if they were eating pure clean hay only (no B12 on it), the fact that the bacteria have populated their fermenting stomachs, means that cattle are unlikely to ever run out of B12.

We on the other hand, do not have that sort of system, and so MUST replenish our B12 stores regularly.

The human body has about a 6-20 year supply of B12 stored in the liver. But if you eliminate meat and don't take supplements, that supply is continually diminished because as it is recycled from your stores, some of it is flushed. Also, if you are eating dried nori or spirulina, those forms of B12 that they do have are actually inactive B12 which blocks your organs from being able to take up the active B12 (which is what you use for health) and you can approach a deficient state even faster.

Symptoms of a B12 deficiency usually don't show up until it is too late to turn around the neurological damage that has been done. You would be able to alleviate some of the symptoms (fatigue, tremors, weakness) but the damage to your brain, does not turn around.

[Debrah]

Another thing to remember too is that there are a variety of other reasons that you might need to supplement your B12. Various medicines as well as disease processes can inhibit or prevent absorption and that would accelerate your progress towards a B12 deficiency. Also the very natural process of aging can lead to a deficiency regardless of your diet.

In this regard, even meat eaters need to be concerned about their own B12 status.

Some of the diseases that can take a patient into a B12 deficient status are:

crohn’s, pancreatic disease, weight loss surgery, fibromyalgia, celiac disease, lack of intrinsic factor,alcoholism, those infected with h. pylori which causes ulcers, HIV, diabetes, people with eating disorders, people with gastrointestinal cancers, acid reflux.

If you have one of these diseases or are on any kind of antacid medications, you should check with your doctor and express your concern about your personal status in this regard.