Plant Foods High in Vitamin B12
B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that people need in only small amounts (2-3 micrograms per day). The body reabsorbs up to 75 percent of excess B12. But because it's found in absorbable form only in animal products, vegetarians may not get enough in their diets. Severe B12 deficiency can cause nerve damage and pernicious anemia, which is characterized by malformed red cells and low white cell blood count, Pam Rotella, a vegetarian writer, explains. B12 may also help prevent heart disease by regulating homocysteine levels, the Vegan Society reports.
Typical Food Sources
Animals don't produce B12. Bacteria that they eat--in dirt and insects--do, which is why meat is a significant source of this vitamin. Animals, including humans, also produce such bacteria internally. According to Virginia Messina, R.D., and Mark Messina, Ph.D., bacteria that produce B12 grow in the mouth and upper and lower intestines, but we also need to absorb more B12 from food sources as well.
Potential Plant Sources
Very few edible plants are believed to produce B12 naturally, and the few that do may not contain it in a form humans can absorb. There is no evidence that fermented soy products, such as tempeh, miso, shoyu, and tamari, have B12, as has been suggested, and although types of seaweed, such as spiraling, dried nori, and barley grass may have B12, they also contain other similar compounds that prevent the body from using it, the Vegetarian Society explains.
It has been suggested that growing edible plants in soil fertilized with human or cow manure can increase their B12 content, but this claim is controversial. Some argue that today's emphasis on thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting produce removes the dirt-and-fertilizer-rich B12 that people often ate on the vegetables in the past, the Vegetarian Action website says.
Fall-Back Sources
Vegetarians should eat foods that contain or are fortified with B12 (cereals and soy products, for example) or take B12 supplements. So should people older than age 50, 10 to 30 percent of whom may have trouble absorbing it from animal products, the Vegan Society advises. The USDA recommends taking 2.4 micrograms per day and 2.8 micrograms if you're a nursing mother.
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