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Vitamin B12 Deficiency – Are Vegans at Risk?
Dear Friends,
If eating animal protein is such a strong risk factor for a large number of diseases and even death, it is highly likely that meat-eaters are also more prone to anemia owing to a deficiency in vitamin B12 than vegan/vegetarians.
In fact, I see far more anemic meat-eaters than anemic vegan/vegetarians. I personally suffered years of childhood anemia while on animal proteins, but completely recovered from it after several weeks on a vegan diet.
Foods high in protein lack dietary fiber which slows bowel functions, thereby leading to chronic intestinal congestion. Accumulated or trapped waste material in the large intestine may consist of impacted feces, hardened mucus, dead cellular tissue, gallstones that were released from the gallbladder, dead and living bacteria, parasites, worms (meat eaters have a relatively large number of worms and parasites in their intestinal tract), metals and other noxious substances. Intestinal congestion greatly undermines the colon’s important role in absorbing essential minerals and some bacteria-produced vitamins, including the all-important vitamin B12. Parts of the waste matter may enter the lymph and blood systems, which can make you feel tired, sluggish or ill.
The statement that Cobalamins or B12 vitamins can only be found in animal foods such as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, etc. is plain false. B12 is found in fermented plant foods and algae, and of course, in a healthy mouth and digestive tract. A deficiency of this vitamin is thought to cause pernicious anemia and degeneration of nerve fibers of the spinal cord responsible for neuropathy and dementia.
The argument that people who don’t consume any animal foods must also be B12 deficient and thereby endanger their health is unscientific, unfounded and misleading. Apart from producing vitamins K, B1 and B2, as well as energy-providing short-chain fatty acids, the billions of beneficial bacteria residing in our intestines and mouth can produce more than enough B 12 to guarantee good health. And you don’t need much of it. The amount of vitamin B12 a healthy person will require throughout his lifetime is about the size of half the nail of your little finger.
In addition, the liver can store B12 for many years and knows how to recycle this vitamin. This may explain why vegans (those who don’t eat any type of animal products) eating a balanced diet almost never suffer from B12 deficiencies (contrary to public opinion).
If the body for any reason required more of this vitamin, it would instinctively desire foods (versus craving them) that would meet the increased demand. However, if the liver and intestines are congested and one’s natural instinct becomes subdued, a B12 deficiency may eventually develop, regardless of whether a person is a meat-eater, vegetarian, or vegan.
To make B12 vitamins available to the body, the stomach must make enough intrinsic factor contained in gastric juice. Without enough intrinsic factor, B12 cannot be properly absorbed later in the small intestine. A lack in stomach acid is not only a major cause of acid-reflux disease or GERD, but it is also a main reason for B12 deficiency.
Balanced secretion of gastric juice normally keeps the sphincter of the esophagus closed. Combining meat protein and starch foods (like potatoes, rice or bread) in the same meal renders much of the gastric juice ineffective. This may cause the sphincter of the esophagus to remain open, which allows acid stomach contents to back up into the esophagus. Since most meat eaters also eat starches like potatoes or rice along with their animal proteins, they are far more likely to suffer acid reflux and B12 deficiencies than vegans.
Bariatric surgery is another cause of B12 deficiency and development of pernicious anemia. Other risk factors contributing to these conditions include excessive consumption of alcohol, stomach tumors, gastric ulcers, Crohn's disease, tapeworm infection as a result of eating seafood, surgery that removes the part of the small intestine where vitamin B12 is absorbed, and intestinal malabsorption disorders. The most common cause of poor digestion and absorption is lack of bile secretion as a result of gallstones in the bile ducts of the liver and gallbladder. It is also responsible for decreased gastric secretions, especially common among older people.
In addition, drugs such as antacids and metformin (used for treating diabetes) interfere with gastric secretion and, therefore, with adequate absorption of vitamin B12. Taking antibiotics quickly destroys beneficial bacteria, which inevitably leads to an overgrowth of destructive bacteria in parts of the small intestine and in our mouths. A disturbed intestinal flora is the most common cause of B12 deficiency. Many pharmaceutical drugs interfere with gastric secretions and can, therefore, be held responsible for B12 deficiency.
Low vitamin D alone, due to lack of sun exposure, can reduce gastric secretions and thus contribute to B12 deficiency. And according to British research, thoroughly washing one’s organically-grown, naturally-fertilized vegetables can also cause it. Food fertilized with cow dung, for example, leaves plenty of B12on the skins of fruits and vegetables.
So before jumping to the conclusion that a vegan diet must be behind a B12 deficiency, one first needs to take a closer look at all these other, more likely, reasons. Remember, just one course of antibiotics can dramatically reduce the liver’s ability to store and release B12, while also destroying the B12–generating gut bacteria for an entire lifetime!
Click Below to watch my video on the subject of Debunking Vitamin B12 deficiency among vegan/vegetarians.
I wish you the best of health and personal fulfillment.
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