Post Punk Kitchen Forum

hi everyone. I'm sure this has been posed a bazillion times but since I'm new to PPK I don't know that it has ;)

so b12. I have read 'vegan for life' and it's a great book. I plan to re-read it because the first time around it was a bit overwhelming although it's filled with tons of great info and the authors have a very nice conversational tone. I feel that I eat a healthy vegan diet and a variety of foods and sprinkle nutritional yeast on things when I can ;) Plus my soymilk and cereal are fortified with b12, as are the luna bars I buy (but don't eat daily) and possibly other things too.

Is it 100% necessary to take a b12 supplement? Is it in my best interest just to be on the safe side?

If so, is it best to find just a plain ol' b12 supplement, or is it a better idea to get a vitamin with different kind of b vitamins in it? Also, how important is it to find a "chewable" vitamin for b12 rather than one that you swallow with water? I have an Earth Fare where I live but no Whole Foods or other natural type grocery store where I might could find more "exotic" vitamins. The options for buying vegan vitamins online is a bit overwhelming so if anyone has a good site to recommend to purchase online, that would be appreciated too!

I take a b12 chewable/dissoveable tablet that I get in my local health food shop. I looked up some research before and saw that vegans that generally are deficient when they go without a supplement so I would rather play it on the safe side and take a supplement.

I also take a D vitamin. I'm still using up D3 I got before I went vegan. I take it because there is fairly poor sun here. It is one of those mystical objects that we only hear about in fairy tales.

If you don't eat those fortified foods every single day, I'd take a supplement. Pages 32 and 33 of Vegan For Life have a pretty good explanation of how to take B12 supplements and since the book is written by two vegan registered dietitians, you can totally trust their advice. It's definitely overwhelming to try to read the whole book at once as a new vegan, but check out those two pages for specifics on B12 supplementation.
You can also buy vitamins online. I buy mine on Amazon for pretty cheap.

I would supplement to be on the safe side, for sure. Regarding different types of B12 supplements, there are lots of options besides the swallowable tablets: chewable, sublingual, liquid etc. Supposedly these types (especially sublingual) are absorbed into the body more easily than swallowing a tablet, but I don't really know all the science behind that. I'm sure there's no shortage of information about it on the internet though.

If you can't find the supplements you want locally, try online: iHerb, GNC and Drugstore.com all sell supplements.

I think it's 100% necessary to take a b12 supplement just to be on the safe side.

Though in theory a varied diet will give you enough B vitamins, it won't hurt to take a general B vitamin supplement that also has b-12 in it.

Though b-12 fortified foods as soymilk could provide enough b-12, I would rather be safe than sorry and supplement b-12 regardless of the usage of fortified foods.

thank you everyone for your advice!

For all of you above who take B12, which brand do you use, and do you look for ones that are specifically USP verified??
http://www.usp.org/usp-verification-services

@daisychain, I take vitamin D3 too and am also using up my stash before I switch to D2.

Or just get tested regularly. I don't take specific supplements and I'm not dead yet.

thanks everyone, i'm going to check my EarthFare later today (similar to Whole Foods) but I thankfully found some chewable 50 mcg and 100mcg B12 (cyanocobalamin) from Freeda directly on their website. If I can't find what I'm looking for locally I will order online from them.

The "vegan for life" book suggests a daily dose (what I would prefer to do in addition to my fortified foods) of 25 mcg - 100mcg so I'm a bit surprised at a lot of the B12 supplements I'm finding outline for amounts like 250, 500, and other high amounts in mcg......

For this important subject, I would consult authoritative sources. Here are a couple links from registered dietitians for you:
http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vitaminb12
http://www.theveganrd.com/tag/vitamin-b12

As far as what I do, I eat fortified foods (soy or almond milk, nutritional yeast) and sometimes chew fortified gum (stride spark) but I also take a daily multivitamin with B12 (also includes D3, I don't worry about the nonveganness). I've never had my B12 levels tested, but that lab test is notoriously inaccurate and should not be a substitute for supplementing appropriately.

I do think they address this issue in the book--you can either take smaller supplements daily, or larger ones once a week. Check either the book or the links I posted above--not sure what the exact numbers are. B12 is less well absorbed at higher doses, but you can still take the larger ones, it's just that 500mcg will not result in 5 times more vitamin absorbed than 100mcg, for example.

thanks everyone, i'm most likely going to go with the 50mcg daily chewable dose.

I think *everyone* should take a b12 supplement.

I just don't trust fortification for many reasons - it's a great boost, but not reliable. You don't know how it could be distributed in product, sunlight can kill the vitamis, etc, etc.

Taking a vitamin is not hard, for such a good safety benefit.

thanks, it's been a few days, and i am taking the 50mcg of b12 daily. love it!

thanks again to all for your advice!

just wanted to put this info here in case anyone else came looking for it:

from Vegan For Life:

Bump!

I was at the dr. today and asked for a b12 test. Since I've never had my levels checked (veg 10 years but I do take supplements) I figured it might not be a bad idea. The PA told me the only test for b12 is by checking for anemia, which seemed odd to me since I thought I'd read about having actual b12 levels checked. Lo and behold, after a little internetting I found that a low RBC *can* indicate low b12 but you can still be deficient and not show signs of anemia. From the CDC page on B12 deficiency: “the proscription that cobalamin deficiency should not be diagnosed unless megaloblastic changes are found is akin to requiring jaundice to diagnose liver disease.” And yes, there is a test that can detect low serum vitamin B12 levels, even among patients who are not anemic.

Just wanted to share this info with you all in case your health care professional is not in the know. I'm pretty annoyed, especially because she was totally dismissive, acting like I didn't know what I was talking about. Now I'm not sure if I should get my levels checked (i.e., argue with people at the clinic to order the right test) or just forget about it.

FYI: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/b12/detection.html

if you want your b12 levels checked the right way, do it the way you want ;)

i should have gotten that done when i recently got bloodwork done but forgot to ask. my doc is pretty cool so i think she would have ordered it for me. but i've been taking chewable 50mcg of b12 daily since i went vegan a few months ago, so for now, i don't feel i have any need to be overly concerned about my levels. but i do want to remember to ask the next time i need bloodwork done.