Vegan Practically

I learned something new about B12 today. I don’t need to take as much as I thought to get my recommended requirement.

While of course everyone always asks about vegan protein sources (easy! A post for another day), the second most frequent concern about a vegan diet is B12. Today I’m going to talk about why it is important to get B12 and why vegans (more than omnivores) need to pay attention to make sure they’re getting it. But having to pay attention isn’t the same as not being able to get it. So you can rest assured that becoming vegan does not necessarily mean losing out on B12.

Most of the information I’m going to present here comes from a post about B12 on the informative and wonderful resources found on the Vegan Society website. You could go right there and get all the info you need. But they don’t have an accompanying photo of Marmite on toast. Just saying.

The health consequences of low B12 intake include anemia and nervous system damage. So you don’t want regularly to fall short on B12. B12 is delivered to us through micro-organisms and is really easy to get from animal products like meat, fish, eggs, dairy and poultry. Lucky for vegans, it’s also really easy to get in fortified vegan foods such as some plant-based milks, some soy, and some cereals. Though there are plant-based sources of B12, such as seaweed, nutritional yeast, yeast extract (the main ingredient in Marmite), or spirulina, it’s tough to eat enough of these to get what you need.

The recommended daily amount varies a bit from country to country (find the Canadian recommendations here), but it’s between 2.4-3 micrograms (go for the high end if you’re pregnant or lactating). The good thing is that overdoing it isn’t know to be harmful.

The Vegan Society recommends three main ways to get what you need:

• Eat B12 fortified foods two or three times a day to get at least three micrograms (mcg or µg) of B12 a day
• OR take one B12 supplement daily providing at least 10 micrograms
• OR Take a weekly B12 supplement providing at least 2000 micrograms.

The less frequently you take it the more you need, which is why the numbers for once-a-week supplement intake are higher than the once-daily supplement intake, and the 3x a day amount if you’re taking it through fortified foods is less still than the daily amount if taken as a supplement.

I get it through a combo of fortified foods and a supplement. My soy milk (Silk plain unsweetened) contains 1 microgram per 250 ml. I don’t consume enough soy milk in a day to get what I need, so I also take a supplement. It’s a chewable lozenge, recommended to be either chewed or dissolved in your mouth, not swallowed as a pill. It tastes fine (“cherry” flavour) and contains 1200 mcg. The bottle says to take it daily, but after reading around for this post I realize I really only need to take one a couple of times a week. It’s reasonably priced and I got it from a local health food store, but you can also find it online. Whether you shop in person or online for a B12 supplement, be sure to doublecheck that it is vegan.

The other thing I learned is that testing for B12 isn’t a great indicator of anything much for vegans. I always thought that I was doing great because whenever I had bloodwork, my B12 showed as fine. But the Vegan Society notes that “Algae and some other plant foods contain B12-analogues (false B12) that can imitate true B12 in blood tests while actually interfering with B12 metabolism.” I don’t eat a lot of (or any) algae, but still. Apparently there are urine tests that do a better job.

That said, it’s so easy to get the required amount through supplements and fortified foods that unless you’re showing symptoms of B12 deficiency, you’re probably fine if you’re paying attention to your intake on a regular basis.

For your info: “In adults typical deficiency symptoms include loss of energy, tingling, numbness, reduced sensitivity to pain or pressure, blurred vision, abnormal gait, sore tongue, poor memory, confusion, hallucinations and personality changes. Often these symptoms develop gradually over several months to a year before being recognised as being due to B12 deficiency and they are usually reversible on administration of B12.”

I know Fridays are supposed to be the “fun-post” day, and B12 isn’t as fun as cake and air fryers and creamy foods. But it’s not completely “un-fun,” the way environmental destruction, animal cruelty, and other topics reserved for Tuesdays are. And perhaps Marmite on toast is a little bit fun, and who doesn’t smile at the heart-shaped single serving containers of Marmite you get in the UK, known as “Love Portions.” One of those will give you 25% of your daily requirement of B12 (note: it’s not gluten free).

Wishing you all a great weekend.