Vegan b12 Supplementation
is it Necessary?

Is vegan B12 supplementation necessary? Of course not!! But as you can imagine this concern has been blown way, way out or proportion. I often wonder why is that the case. The protein myth has already fallen, as did the calcium milk theory. So I guess that ,for meat eating, dairy consuming and other unethical individuals out there, the b12 issue is the next best excuse. Well then again I could be wrong, it's quite possible that all the okus pokus surrounding this topic was just pushed onto the public by these pharmaceutical giants in the name of profit.

Please try not to get me wrong, every human, vegan or not, needs b12. A deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to anaemia, fatigue, paleness, anorexia, mental confusion, delusions, paranoia, weight loss, etc. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, this is nothing special because the lack of any vitamin/mineral or nutrient will lead to severe diseases, B12 ain't one bit special.

So why is vegan b12 such a huge topic?

A huge topic? I can hardly say that it is. Surly you have never met a vegan deficient in B12 and surly you never even knew of the vegan B12 saga until you came across it somewhere on the internet or news right? See, it's not really a big thing but there are those who would like you to think it is, namely those who care not for our animal friends and those seeking to make big bucks off of your insecurities.

Now, one may wonder "why B12?" and not vitamin A,D,C OR Z (who really knows if there is a vitamin Z when 90% of vitamins are unknown to man). Well that's simple, according to main stream knowledge, B12 isn't found in the plant kingdom ( lies) and the only naturally reliable source of B12 for humans is meat (another lie). These people  want you to think that being vegan is not so natural and that eating animals is the way to go -another excuse to keep harming these innocent guys- or at the very least they would have you dig up some cash to pay for some unnecessary drugs.

So what's the truth?

There is so much bad advice out there about vegan B12. Even genuine people who really want to help others have been grossly misinformed and end up passing on flawed knowledge. You don't believe me? Just do a google search for vegan B12 and see for yourself how all the top sites out there are so adamant in with their promotion vegan B12 supplements.

So who can you really trust? Well firstly, yourself. I mean just think about it, do you really believe mother nature made us with a need to take man made vegan B12 supplements? Surly not. All the nutrients we need is always found naturally occurring in our environment. And then what of this meat eating argument? If you don't already know that humans are herbivores you should ask yourself: "Why are meat eaters so sick all the time? Why would we need to eat stuff that kills us and harm others?". You see? Just by reasoning things out you can come to the same natural conclusion. Before we head any further, let's clarify a few things.

Facts

• B12 is killed by heat- unless you are going to eat meat raw don’t think for one second you're going to get anything good from it, meat is not nutritions anyway. Besides the B12 found in meat is only a secondary source as B12 isn't found naturally in plants nor animals, only bacteria can make it.
  

• We make our own- well not us, but bacteria in our intestines and mouths. Many people say so what? That's because they don't know that the body can absorb B12 through the intestine.
  "Vitamin B12 is the only nutrient that requires a cofactor for efficient absorption.  The cells of the stomach produce a substance, called intrinsic factor, which combines—after the acidic digestion of the food in the stomach—with the B12 released from food. This “intrinsic factor-B12 complex” then travels to the end of the small intestine (the ileum) where it is actively absorbed.  There is a second, much less efficient process, called “the passive absorption of B12” which also occurs in the intestine. This mechanism does not use intrinsic factor and as a result it is 1/1000 as efficient. But by consuming very large doses of oral B12, passive absorption will correct B12 deficiency even for patients with diseases of the stomach and small intestine." <-- Check out this link for more details on that study.
  

• Supplements suck- That's no exaggeration. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are inorganic and are therefore unusable by the human body. In the manufacturing of 'food supplements', chemically pure substances must be used for the most part. If the scientists used naturally derived nutrients, their pills would be too large for us to swallow. Additionally, a chemical 'carrier' is added to make the products acceptable to the palate of the consumer and to bring their product up to an acceptable standard. These chemical carriers, as with all chemicals, are toxic to the human organism. They result in stimulation of the body and an illusionary cure. Read more about why supplements are not acceptable by our bodies  here.

• B12 doesn't stand alone- Other vitamins, nutrients and many complex chemicals are needed for B12 to be adsorbed or used in the the body. So even though a supplement may contain a high percent of B-12 it doesn't mean that your body will be able to absorb or use it. Your blood tests may show a high level of the vitamin but that does no good to you if your body can't use it.
  

• We don't need that much- for your daily vegan B12 requirements less than 3 micrograms a day is pretty sufficient. Besides, your body reabsorbs most of this vitamin anyway. So much so that it would take you about 20 years to become deficient in B-12 if you switched to a vegan diet today and had zero B12 intake for the rest of your days- P.s.  the only way to do that is to not eat.

Look, I can continue listing all this info but I think you get the gist, nature has already taken care of this problem (it's not even a problem) for us but if you want more info, maybe to win a vegan B12 debate, check this out.

Best B12 sources

No I'm not here to tell you not to use supplements, that's totally up to you and your health care professional. Besides, it only take it a second to swallow that pill so take it if you want. You can also try products consisting of fortified B12 but, if you really want to be healthy, just let nature be your guide.

That said, the best way to obtain B12 is to allow your body to produce it naturally. Or eat natural, organic fruits and veggies without washing or cooking all the nutrients out of them. Don't be afraid of a little soil, that's the way nature intended it to be.

Take away message

Whatever conclusions you may come to at the end of the day be sure not to ignore your vegan B12 needs, or any nutritional needs for that matter. Nature provides all that you need but the choice to supplement is all up to you. In any case, I wish you good health and well-being. One love.

P.s For more useful info on a tonne of other nutrients check out what Gary has to say here http://adaptt.org/veganism.html#.

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