Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

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fabindia
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Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by fabindia »

My daughter was diagnosed as vitamin B12 deficient last week. She is in her late 20s and has been a vegetarian since her early teens. It's not so serious, a course of tablets should put her right.

Having been vegetarian myself for many years and Mrs Fab not eating much meat or fish at all, it has made me think. We eat eggs and cheese which does provide some B12 and we have Soya on our morning cereal, which has added B12. Because of this, I have really worried about this too much in the past. However, vitamin B12 deficiency isn't called pernicious anemia for nothing, it does creep on unnoticed, particularly in older people, as the ability to absorb B12 decreases with age.

Mrs Fab and I have now started to use 'B12 Boost Oral Spray'. You just spray on the inside of your cheek and that's it.

The only thing I would caution against is that it is marketed as something that will boost your energy levels. To be precise though you only need this if you are at risk of B12 deficiency, a vegan/vegetarian or perhaps an older person with anemia.
Michael
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Mad Chick
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by Mad Chick »

I had my B12 tested recently and while I wasn't deficient, I was right at the bottom of the 'normal' range. I've now also started taking a supplement to see if it helps.
My GP regularly tests me for a few bits and bobs as I have a very underactive thyroid which supposedly can make you more susceptible to vitamin and mineral deficiencies (B12, VitD, magnesium and iron).
Lucy x


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fabindia
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by fabindia »

Mad Chick wrote:a very underactive thyroid


Mrs Fab has an underactive thyroid too, which is why she is also taking B12 boost.
Michael
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saint-spoon
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by saint-spoon »

May I be as bold to suggest that if a dietary plan is not giving you all of the necessary nutrients that you need for a healthy life then, unless you have an underlying health problem, that the particular dietary lifestyle that you gave chosen is not so healthy after all. Taking supplements to cover deficiencies in your diet seems a bit odd to me when we live in a society where a healthy and balanced diets is available to all. I am not knocking vegetarians or vegans but we have had a few folk on the lane in the past who have gone away from those life choices due to ill health caused by a restricted diet. There are obviously huge numbers of vegetarian people globally, entire ethnic groups in some cases live quite happily and healthily on a near vegan diet, but their genetic makeup allows them to make the most of their diet.
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Meanqueen
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by Meanqueen »

I was wondering how you get diagnosed for Vit B12 deficiency? Do you have to be feeling ill in the first place and go to the doctor? I have not eaten meat for almost 30 years, and stopped eating fish a few years ago. I eat dairy so I am not vegan. I feel perfectly fine so I am reluctant to bother the doctor for a test.

I eat a varied and healthy diet, or like to think I do. Even with my yellow sticker shopping I am often able to try food that I would not ordinarily pay full price for. It's not all veg and lentils. I think it's a general misconception that you have to take supplements if you are vegetarian or vegan. I don't and don't feel the need to. Am I storing up a load pf problems for myself? I don't know. Maybe the deficiency has something to do with genetics, as well as what you eat.
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by Freeranger »

I think Michael would know the answer better than me, but I think some gut flora can 'use up' B12. One of the causes of ulcers is heliobacter pylori, and it can be associated with this. I've just been finding out about it over the last few days as a family member is ill, and folks have been making their afflictions known to shed light on it. The PA seems to be a creeping feeling of melancholy/depression/lack of energy/tiredness etc and so could go undiagnosed and then become quite serious, but I think you'd know eventually that something was wrong, even if you didn't know what. Does this make sense,M?
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saint-spoon
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by saint-spoon »

Meanqueen wrote:I was wondering how you get diagnosed for Vit B12 deficiency? Do you have to be feeling ill in the first place and go to the doctor? .... I eat dairy so I am not vegan. I feel perfectly fine so I am reluctant to bother the doctor for a test.
Ilona

One of the early signs is anemia so if you are feeling fine then perhaps there is no need to get it checked. Milk, eggs and so on are good sources of B12 as, I believe are Marmite and other yeast based foods (and fortified cereals) so you may well be getting enough from milk and cheese.
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fabindia
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Re: Vegetarianism and B12 Deficiency

Post by fabindia »

Meanqueen wrote:I think it's a general misconception that you have to take supplements if you are vegetarian or vegan. Ilona

saint-spoon wrote:if a dietary plan is not giving you all of the necessary nutrients that you need for a healthy life then, unless you have an underlying health problem, that the particular dietary lifestyle that you gave chosen is not so healthy after all.


I think you are both right. It seems to me that B12 deficiency has a number of causes;

  • Pernicious anemia - these are people that just cannot absorb B12 in normal amounts. The only treatment years ago was to eat a couple of pounds of raw liver a day to simply just overload the body with B12 so some got absorbed .
  • Older people With age some people again seem not to be able to absorb B12. My mother for example eats red and white meat and dairy but she is B12 deficient and has to have B12 injections.
  • Vegetarians who don't eat enough variety of dairy and vegans.
I'm vegetarian but do eat plenty of eggs, dairy and marmite but at the same time I'm getting to the older person category, so am being just extra careful :-D
Michael
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