food and nutrition


B12 Vitamin

Question: Where can we find B12 vitamin other than animals's products? Does the B12 vitamin exist in another source than animals' meat?

Answer: Vitamin B-12 is naturally found in meat (especially liver and shellfish), milk and eggs. Animals, in turn, must obtain it directly or indirectly from bacteria, and these bacteria may inhabit a section of the gut which is posterior to the section where B-12 is absorbed. Thus, herbivorous animals must either obtain B-12 from bacteria in their rumens, or (if fermenting plant material in the hindgut) by reingestion of cecotrope fæces. Eggs are often mentioned as a good B-12 source, but they also contain a factor that blocks absorption.[23] Certain insects such as termites contain B-12 produced by their gut bacteria, in a manner analogous to ruminant animals.[24] An NIH Fact Sheet lists a variety of food sources of vitamin B-12. Plants only supply B-12 to humans when the soil containing B-12-producing microorganisms has not been washed from them. For example, mushrooms are typically high in B-12 [25], but they are often grown in soil containing high amounts of manure and bacteria, and there is a serious question as to whether B-12 may be made by mushrooms themselves [26], and how much of it would be present after careful washing [27]. Vegan humans who eat only carefully washed vegetables must ordinarily take special care to supplement their diets accordingly. According to the U.K. Vegan Society, the only reliable vegan sources of B-12 are foods fortified with B-12 (including some plant milks, some soy products and some breakfast cereals), and B-12 supplements.[28] While lacto-ovo vegetarians usually get enough B-12 through consuming dairy products, vitamin B-12 may be found to be lacking in those practicing vegan diets who do not use multivitamin supplements or eat B-12 fortified foods. Examples of fortified foods often consumed include fortified breakfast cereals, fortified soy-based products, and fortified energy bars. Claimed sources of B-12 that have been shown through direct studies[29] of vegans to be inadequate or unreliable include, laver (a seaweed), barley grass, and human gut bacteria. People on a vegan raw food diet are also susceptible to B-12 deficiency if no supplementation is used[30].

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