B12 and fats Dilemma for macrobiotics dieter of 15 years

[escapee]

I find the following story interesting and worth sharing to those who will be on macrobiotic diet for long term. Best wishes

My Vitamin B12 Dilemma - ( pernicious anaemia ) : Macrobiotics Vegan Diets

After days of blood and other tests, Dr. Zagar came and sat on the bed again. He had answers, which made him very happy. He explained that I was seriously anemic and that my blood was severely deficient in Vitamin B-12, causing my homocysteine level to increase enough to cause the hemorrhage to occur.

He told me that the walls of my veins and arteries were as thin as rice paper, again from this deficiency and that without proper supplementation I would be a high risk for a recurrence of my condition with less likelihood of a happy ending. He also explained that my tests indicated that my diet was too low in fat, resulting in numerous other deficiencies (but those are for another article). He said that my dietary choices had to be modified because they could not sustain my level of activity. At the same time, he said, the way I had chosen to live and eat had most likely saved my life.

I was shocked. I ate a macrobiotic diet, as I had for 15 years. Robert and I cooked most of our meals at home, using the best quality ingredients we could find. I had heard…and believed…that I was getting sufficient amounts of this essential nutrient in the fermented foods I ate daily. Boy, was I wrong.

There are no plant sources of useable Vitamin B12 for those of us who choose not to eat any animal protein. I choose to take sublingual supplements.

With simple supplementation, an increase in good quality fat…and a new understanding of how to balance work and rest, I have, once again, discovered the great life promised me by this lifestyle

[Addict]

There are no plant sources of useable Vitamin B12 for those of us who choose not to eat any animal protein.

I've been trying to say this for a while, but a lot of people dismiss it.

[escapee]

Some people prefer to learn it from hard ( damaging ) way.

[ginkgo]

Thanks a lot for that article. It will help me to update my website info on supplementation. Now I have a study showing that taking the Lake Klammath algae increases levels of B-12 in the blood. But that was when the MLM company promoting it was doing good with some making over $50,000 monthly. Since people are willing to kill for money, that research could have been fudged.

I have known about this deficiency for many years with a newsletter saying that vegetarians do not live longer than meat-eaters due to B-12 and omega-3 deficiency. Also I had info from an ND who tested many for it and found about 40% vegetarians deficient. But the same is the number with meat eaters. It appears that eating meat causes an increase in need of B-12. This was found by a group that has broke from the Raw Food Movement and eat 85% raw. They have been supplementing with B-12 after they were tested for it.

These were all reported to have B-12; maca, aloe vera, brewers yeast, barley grass, bee pollen (not vegan) and dong quai. Animal foods like meat have B-12 but are a bad source since eating animal foods increases the need for B-12. I did not undersand how they can have it but the body cannot use it. But I see it is not the same according to this article.

Although the article says that the body can only store small amounts of it-- 2 mg. But everything is relative and that is a huge amount. Is 10 million dollars a small amount of money? To Bill Gates it is only the earnings of one day! Since the RDA for B-12 is about 6 mcg a day and 1,000 mcg equals 1 mg then 2 mg is amost a year of B-12. My point is that to supplement it would cost the same as a cup of Starbucks coffee once a year. Swansons (1-800-437-4148) has 1,000 mcg B-12 lozenges (plus 400 mg folic acid) that melt in your mouth at 100 for $3.19. Until 11/15/07 you can get 2 of them for that price. A months worth of vitamin D or A (oil soluble) taken today would kill you (death from liver failure) so to be able to store a years supply of B-12 is huge.

It appears we used to get more in our diet (before vitamins were discovered) from eating more bacteria. So I suggest drinking Kombuchu tea since it is full of bacteria that produce B-12 and lots of other stuff good for you. Also vegetarians may need more K-2 which helps calcium to go into bones and stay out of arteries. K-1 is in dark leafy greens but a recent study shows that K-2 is much more effective. Some is in cheese and eggs but there is a great deal of it in Natto which is fermented soybeans which I just bought 2 days ago. So it appears that the bacteria based vitamins are the ones that vegetarians and meat-eaters need to worry about. The Japanese have been eating Natto for hundreds of years.

Swansons has the cheapest vitamins but I make money (since 1998) promoting an MLM company with herbs from Amazon rainforest which I see that Kevin Trudeau mentions in his book, More Natural Cures.
Amazon Rainforest Herbs

[escapee]

Also I had info from an ND who tested many for it and found about 40% vegetarians deficient. But the same is the number with meat eaters.It appears that eating meat causes an increase in need of B-12. This was found by a group that has broke from the Raw Food Movement and eat 85% raw. They have been supplementing with B-12 after they were tested for it.

I dont know where you get your info that Omnivores are as likely to deficient on B12 as vegans but feel free to check the journal below.


Homocysteine Levels in Vegetarians versus Omnivores

Omnivores consume the recommended amount of methionine; however, in individuals consuming an alternative diet, the intake of methionine is deficient (assessed by food frequency questionnaire; lower content of methionine in plant proteins). Under conditions of lower methionine availability the remethylation pathway prevails

The serum vitamin B12 levels are significantly lower in the alternative nutrition groups (214.8 pmol/l in vegetarians, 140.1 pmol/l in vegans vs. 344.7 pmol/l in omnivores); a deficit (<179.0 pmol/l) was found in 26% of the vegetarians and in 78% of the vegans vs. 0% in omnivores. The serum folate levels were within the range of reference values in all groups; however, they were significantly lower in omnivores. The results show that the mild hyperhomocysteinemia in alternative nutrition is a consequence of vitamin B12 deficiency.

[madgeylou]

dude, do you not know that the only reason animal protein has B12 is because the animals get it as a supplement in their food??

either eat the supplement yourself, or eat the animal who ate the supplement. those are the only choices since we've ruined so much of our topsoil with industrial agriculture with its many chemical inputs.

[Addict]

dude, do you not know that the only reason animal protein has B12 is because the animals get it as a supplement in their food??

either eat the supplement yourself, or eat the animal who ate the supplement. those are the only choices since we've ruined so much of our topsoil with industrial agriculture with its many chemical inputs.

I hate to break it to you, but wild animals don't take supplements.

In reality, animals either produce it themselves or they get it in their diet and we simply can't get it in our diet unless we eat animal products.

[NotesMaeve]

B12 is necessary, and is naturally produced by animals. Just how they work.

For some people, the ethical implications of eating animal products makes it well worth taking a tiny, synthesized B12 pill. We've evolved enough so that we don't have to exploit animal life. That said, I still consume some animal products at the time (happy eggs, some dairy, white sugar, artificial sweeteners), but I respect someone's choice to cause less death and destruction.