How can a vegan diet be healthy if it doesn't include the vitamin b12?

Question

please correct me if I'm wrong but I think a diet that needs vitamin supplements (which were not invented until very recently) can't be totally healthy.

Answer 1

Given that processed meats contain tons of artificial colors, preservatives, etc, and dairy contains growth hormones and antibiotics, I would say a vegan diet is much more natural, and healthy, than one that includes meat and dairy. It is possible to get vitamin b12 from algae, but that's not recommended because it's not as reliable as supplements. Many vegans (myself included), get their b12 from fortified foods as opposed to supplements. Tons of products that most people eat on a regular basis are fortified, including breakfast cereals, milk, pastas, and breads. Pretty much anyone who is an expert on nutrition would agree that a vegan diet is extremely healthy, and that the need to get vitamin b12 from fortified foods or supplements is a small price to pay for a significantly reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and many other diseases. Vegans, on average, live about 6-10 years longer than meat eaters, so the numbers kind of speak for themselves.

Edit:

Like I said, there is vitamin b12 in algae, especially spirulina. It's just recommended not to use that as a primary source of the vitamin. Just like it's recommended for cow's milk to be pasteurized (not natural). I'm not trying to say humans were meant to be vegan. If you wanna be what humans were meant to be, stop eating processed meats that you buy from the store, and go out and build a weapon out of wood, attack an animal, kill it, cook it, and eat it. I personally am glad that because of modern technology, I don't have to go through that process. I can just eat fortified foods for b12. I think I will probably live longer than someone who lives a completely "natural" human life. If you're so upset about people living unnatural lives, I suggest you get off your computer.

Answer 2

B12 didn't used to be a problem in vegan diets as much of the food we ate was contaminated by B12 producing bacteria (that's right: all B12 is produced by bacteria, not animals).

However, due to modern farming techniques, and stricter "sanitation standards" our soils and crops have been sterilised and plant based sources of B12 are virtually nonexistent nowadays!

This has resulted in animal products currently being the only reliable source of B12 as they still eat eat food that is contaminated by bacteria.

Nutritional yeast, kombucha (and other fermented drinks), yeast spreads, fortified cereals etc are all vegan sources of B12.

However, because B12 is so important to our health you are correct in suggesting that we should take the occasional B12 supplement as well.

This does not necessarily make our diet "un-natural" or "unhealthy" as it is only due to recent changes in our agricultural system that require us to take this supplement and all the evidence suggests that vegans are just as (if not more) healthy as omnivores which eat a balanced diet.

Source:http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

These arguments aside, veganism is not about being "natural", it is about trying to live compassionately. If I am required to take a pill twice a week in order to live in a way that is in accordance with my ethics... I consider that to be perfectly acceptable.

Hope this helps :)

Answer 3

Silk soy milk is fortified with b12. You can guzzle that good stuff down daily. Yum! Chocolate's my fave!

EDIT: Oh yeah I remember Spirulina did have b12. However soy milk probably tastes better LOL. I  have bought Kombucha drinks from whole foods before. I loved it.

Answer 4

What are you talking about? A vegan diet is of course the healthiest diet and does include vitamin b12.

Vitamin B12 grows on bacteria. It's not an animal or plant derived nutrient; it's a bacteria derived nutrient. It is a myth that it is only found in animal products. Since it is from bacteria it is harder for vegans to get due to everything being so clean now, back then it was everywhere.

There tends to be B12 on meat, because meat is the flesh of a dead animal and is dirty so is susceptible to more bacteria. And the B12 in milk is mainly because the cows are feed fresh grains and plants where the bacteria grows, and overfed it at times (so in a way it's fortified). Most B12 deficiencies are linked to animal eaters, not plant eaters.

B12 can be stored in our bodies for about 5 years or longer and we do not need much daily (about .70- 2.4 mcg).

Some good sources of B-12 are fortified cereals, fortified soy/rice milks, meat substitutes/soy analogs, some brands of fortified brewer's & nutritional yeast (such as Red Star & Twinlab). Sea vegetables like seaweed, dried nori, & spirulina, may contain vitamin B12, but their content varies and may be unreliable, lactic acid fermented products such as like tempeh, miso, beer & sauerkraut, but their content as well varies and may be unreliable. Marmite, So Delicious Dairy Free Yogurt, Manging Star foods, and other vegan store bought foods also contains B12 (Cyanocobalamin), as well as other fortified products. You can also get it from supplements such as Deva or a patch.

Additional Details -

No we did not misunderstand you, you apparently mis worded us. Natural can mean different things to different people, but like I said original B12 was on pretty much  everything due to the bacteria and people not cleaning things so much. So in it's naturalist form it is naturally in the vegan diet. And supplements and especially fortified food does not make something not natural, it just makes it easier or back up measure. We could still get B12 from  natural sources if we choose to get them from places that the animals that are slaughtered get them from, but we do not need much anyway and it is easier and safer to get them from current clean sources. You are saying animal products are natural then? Really? But if you have to kill it instead of grow it, how can that be natural? Of course it would not only be unnatural and but very unhealthy to eat meat even once a year, are bodies clearly are not designed to eat animals and their products. I have no idea where you get your information or education from, but it's all wrong.

Answer 5

Vegan sources of B12 are:

Nutritional yeast (certain brands only)

B12 fortified soy milk

Fortified breakfast cereals

Vegans using adequate amounts of fortified foods are much LESS likely to suffer from B12 deficiency than the typical meat eater.

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Answer 6

It doesn't matter if it's "natural". It isn't been proven that B12 isn't found in other foods and it isn't proven that B12 is only found in animal products.

It could be argued that it's not "natural" to live in a house, receive medical care, enjoy the benefits of agriculture or for women to have control over who they have s*x with.

Are you implying that it is preferable for people to live like cavemen?

People can be vegan AND healthy whether it is "natural" or not. We CHOOSE to be vegan because we think it is the right thing to do in this day and age.

I'm not going to contribute to unnecessary suffering just because cavemen didn't have supplements or fortified foods.

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You could have read a bit about B12 beforehand.

Answer 7

I drink 16 ounces of plain Silk soy milk everyday.  That gives me 100% of what I need.

Answer 8

Do not over-traumatize; Our guts have natural capacity to synthesize B12 (likewise all other stup*d animals). Consult your vegan physician if there is a need for supplement to your body.

Excess B12 may cause serious toxicity to our body.

Do not listen to anyone else, especially those people below.

Answer 9

Actually, we (meaning humans) did not eat meat every day until recently. Well, recently for the history of humanity, not WRITTEN history. But either way, cavemen weren't going out to kill a mammoth every day. We DID eat meat, though sparsely, and so you are correct in saying it's more natural to eat meat on a sparse basis.

  But, being a vegetarian(myself) or a vegan doesn't always apply to you wanting to be healthy, and in my opinion comparing it to a "diet" is a tiny bit insulting. I'm a vegetarian entirely for the animals themselves.

  So, anyways, you are right, it is slightly unnatural. But the thing is, natural is not always the best. This way, less animals die. And vitamins are not "unhealthy". Vitamins are natural, in certain forms.

Answer 10

The thing about the lack of B12 in a vegan diet is that it's a fairly new development.  It's modern agricultural practices (chemical fertilizers and pesticides) that has rendered the soil incapable of supporting the bacteria that produces B12. I don't consider a diet "unnatural" if recent developments in agriculture have made it so.  There is a nomadic tribe in Iran who have been "naturally" vegan forever, without supplements, because they get enough B12 from soil clinging to roots that they eat.

Since vegans choose not to harm animals for their food, they choose to get B12 that was produced by bacteria grown on a sterile substrate instead of B12 that was produced by bacteria cultured in the gut of a cow.