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Should we worry about B12 deficiency

Hi all,

I was reading on vitamin and nutrient values that the foods I am ingesting contain. I noticed that my calcium intake is lower than it ought to be and that my B12 was low. Should I worry about this?

I am getting this info from fitday.com where I put in the quantities and types of foods I am ingesting.

Day 4 raw feeling allright, not quite as down as I usually feel and some physical symptoms are both manifesting and clearing up.

My nose is running like crazy (detoxing?)

I used to be always very bloated and gassy and I feel that way much less, almost gone infact.

Also, I was always hungry even when I eat lots, lots of pasta, lots of potatoes, lots of roast chix…40 minutes later I felt hungry. Emotional eating? who knows. Now I have a green smoothie for breakfast, a big salad for lunch. A piece of fruit as a snack and I almost want to skip dinner…wow… this is huge, huge. Thanks all, for your help, info and support. Deika

Comments

  • where did you see the calcium intake and B12? I went to the site and only see cal, fat and carbs.

  • Hi Patty and thank you for responding. If you go to reports

    There are several reports you can run, for the day, the week, the month. One of them is called Nutrition.

    I just wonder. I also read in a report on the internet that our livers store quite a bit of B12 so perhaps I shouldn’t worry so much, perhaps a B supplement. As for the calcium, turnip greens have high calicium content. If I can find them here, I will add them to my green smoothies.

  • Hi there,

    I don’t worry about it all. I never worried about when I was cooked, so why should I worry now? :-)

    Seriously, those RDAs are based on cooked fooders. I think raw foodists have more efficient assimiliation of nutrients and therefore need less.

    Don’t worry!!!

    All the best,

    Audrey

  • Thanks chilove,

    all the best to you.

    Deika.

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    B12 deficiency may cause serious health problems. Don’t panic! It can take years to deplete your B12 reserves. Get tested before you worry. For now in short, be safe, not sorry!

    B12 deficiency is easy to test for. The test is called a MMA or Methylmalonic Acid test of the urine. It costs only $40 to $100 for home testing. I am being tested now. Many long term Purely Raw vegans are not deficient.

    B12 is easy to supplement. My wife is currently taking a small nibble daily, off a 500 mcg tablet from Vitasunn Nutritionals. This will cost her about $15 a year. She says that it’s a cheap and easy way to be sure.

    B12 has been used as an argument against vegetarian diets for a long time. The fact is that many meat and dairy eaters are also B12 deficient. Antibiotics in mainly animal foods disturb the production of ‘Intrinsic Factor’ in our stomach. B12 must bind with ‘Intrinsic Factor’ before it can enter our system. Any GP will tell you that B12 deficiency is common now among the elderly, no matter their diet.

  • I have been vegetarian for 13 years, 100 % raw for 4 months. I just had a comprehensive lab panel done and all my results were within normal limits, including my vitamin B 12 levels! I do not take supplements.

  • Girly, I assume as a vegetarian you imply that you consumed animal based products such as dairy and eggs? These products contain B 12 so as a vegetarian you need not worry about that (lacto – ovo veg that is).

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    There was a study done on a group of long term Iranian vegans. It was found that they had great levels of B12. The reason is that they fertilise their veggie patch with their own poo.

    Apparently we produce our own B12, but is generally believed to be excreted too far down in our intestines to be re absorbed into our blood stream.

    This group of vegans had great levels of B12 which surely means that their method of feeding the plants, and eating them along with the residual B12, is a truly eco friendly and natural way of replenishing our B12 supplies. I think it proves that a vegan diet is do able and a natural diet. As in millenia gone by we would have done the same thing- pooing and then eating what springs up from it.

    I doubt I will ever be likely to give that method a go though. Natural and oddly right as it sounds! .. personally I take a nibble off a B12 pill now and then.

  • No one on here has suggested Brewers Yeast which is an excellent source of B12. I sprinkle it on my food and the food of my children. I am a vegan and have been for most of my life. My children are not deficient in anything. Relax and trust your instincts and listen to your body.

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    Don’t think Brewers Yeast is raw, which is probably why no-one has mentioned it on here.

  • Brewers yeast is absolutely not raw. But c’mon, it is one of the most loved and trusted staples of vegans and athletes. I have never had bad feelings from it. I have been 90-100% raw since 1991 and Brewers yeast and maple syrup are the only non raw foods I have kept around. I use them in very small quantities when ever i feel like it. (^ . ^)

  • JoescJoesc Raw Master

    I have mentioned the yeast not being raw. check it out. http://goneraw.com/forums/2/topics/108 Nutritional yeast is better for you than active yeast because the yeast is yeasted so it can die. Active yeast will grow and can cause yeast overgrowth.

  • kandacekandace Raw Newbie

    My nutritionist just posted a short article on B12, where she mentions that Gabriel Cousens is now recommending B12 supplementation. He notes:

    Consistent research over the last decade has shown that vegans and live-food practitioners of all ages have a much higher risk of becoming B12 deficient. There are more than 15 studies on vegans that have substantiated this. The most dramatic was done by Dong and Scott on 83 subjects at a National Hygiene Society conference. 92% of non-supplementing primarily live-food vegans were B12 deficient. There are no studies that show that vegans do not get B12 deficient over time.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    I posted about plant sources with B12… but I haven’t confirmed it.

    B12 in Plant Source

  • You should not worry about B12 deficiency – as long as you are taking a good B12 supplement. It’s very easy. If you are in the US, make sure your supplement has the “USP Verified” seal. (Some of the Nature Made supplements have the seal.) Just take a tablet once in awhile, chew it – it dissolves in your mouth.

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