What about this for a b12 solution?

SueAndHerZoo

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Hi there.... I'm a newbie vegan (2.5 weeks) and this is my first post (although I've been lurking and reading for several weeks now). Of course I'm concerned about the lack of B12 in the foods I'm now eating and know I'll need to do something about it eventually (but I understand it takes a while for a deficiency to occur). I've read that small daily doses of supplementation are better than larger weekly doses and I've also read that a lot of people experience agitation, anxiety and hyperactivity when taking B12 supplements. That part scares me to death because I already have trouble with anxiety issues (don't need to add another source to the mix).

How about this: what if I take a 1000 unit B12 tablet and crush it, then just put a few "crumbs" on my tongue daily? Wouldn't that be comparable to ingesting a small amount through the foods I used to eat? It seems like a perfect solution but I haven't come across anyone else that's doing that for supplementation.

Please offer your thoughts and feedback on the idea. Would it help? Would it hurt? And thanks for all being here - love this forum!
Sue
 
Hey Sue.

I take a 500 micro gram capsule every other day, sometimes everyday. Vitamin B12 is water soluble so it's apparently very hard to overdose, if overdosage is possible. I have been taking this amount of B12 for some time now. I've read that the "RDA" is actually the minimum rather than optimal amount. You should preferably take a vitamin supplment with food as again from what I have read your body goes into digestion mode which means you absorb nutrients more efficiently. I can't see ingesting part of the pill being a problem, though I'd sprinkle what you have on food.

I'd see if anyone else responds to you, we're not overly active here unfortunately so responses may take some time.
 
I take 5000 mcg once a week. I did a blood test when I became (mostly) vegan and after a year of a vegan diet, and my level has significantly increased so that was obviously enough in your case.

If you take a weekly dose you have to take more than 7x the amount of a daily dose because of the smaller amount that can be absorbed all at once, however either is possible. I don't think it matters. Just if you take a weekly one make sure you take a lot more than 7x the reccomended daily amount.

Regarding your comment "a lot of people experience agitation, anxiety and hyperactivity when taking B12 supplements" I think this is not true because I've never heard such a thing. In my case, I felt nothing. However, you can try it and see. Mine is cherry flavoured so it just feels like eating a sweet.
 
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I use a B12 oral spray which gives 2500 times the recommended daily dose, because I'm on a medication that inhibits B12 uptake through the digestive system - I spray it under my tongue once a day and hold it in my mouth for as long as I can so it's absorbed. Apparently this is a much less effective absorption method than through the gut, hence it being a stupidly large dose - I'm assuming it works on the principle that as long as some of it is absorbed, I'll probably get what I need. But I've certainly never had any problems with any ill effects and I've never heard of this before.
 
Ive found that Kelloggs All Bran contains 1.6 µg (63) of B12 per 100g
I'm 31 and male, can anyone tell me how much All Bran I should be eating each day to make sure I'm not deficient?

And is this method going to be ok? this is a real concern for me because I find the meals difficult enough to plan, without having to use an unnatural method of topping up my B12. I know some countries are used to taking vitamin tablets- but I am not and never thought i'd have to, especially in vegan diet which I had assumed was all natural
 
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Bob's Red Mill Nutritional Yeast, 1/4 cup contains 880% DV of Vitamin B12
 
I have looked into this myself and I think the best solution in my opinion is to take a B12 supplement. As a previous person stated, it's something you will not OD on since you will wee all the excess B12 out. Don't be afraid of the high dose supplements. I give my children aged 6-7yrs B12 drops every day in there drinks. B12 is very important and like Omega 3 it's your insurance policy for good health in later life.

I have heard good things about the Spray B12. :)
 
I use B12 drops that you hold under your tounge for 30 seconds and it help with my B12 deficiency
 
Thanks for your responses, and sorry for acknowledging them so late - I didn't receive any e-mail notification that there were new posts in this thread. Good to know that you can't too much so I won't be too concerned about just taking a weekly dose . And I'll look into cereals that are fortified, too, that's a much more tasty way of getting enough. :)
Sue
 
Where can i get b12 in a village in a 3d world country? Excuse me but a supplement from usa would cost here a whole monthly food budget. What should i rot to get it naturally? Im not sure whether the whole b12 dilemma is real; maybe it is a myth created by meat capitalists? There are instances of people who up to the age of 20 did not taste meat because of poverty; there are those who eat it rarely (once a year). Where did these people get b12?
 
From what I understand B12 is found in soil and stuff like that. Vegetables used to be full of b12 but due to pollution, over farming land and pest sprays it has depleted the natural b12. I hear they even inject live stock with b12 so flesh eaters get b12. There is a guy at my work who eats so much meat daily AND he has low B12 and needs injections. So it's not just us vegans who need to supplement;)
 
So it's not just us vegans who need to supplement
This is the strangest thing. As it turns out there's very little b12 in meat, fish. So in order to get adequate supply of it meat eaters need to eat liver, kidneys, intestines, heads, those disgusting things that are usually thrown to dogs.
If i sprout grains and dont wash it much could there be any b12? Since b12 is a product of bacteria, why isnt it possible to cultivate this bacteria, sell it to people like yeast so that they could add it to some environment (like vegetables, grain), leave it for fermentation and then eat it? Practical sources of b12 i can think of are snails (the big pest in a vegetable garden) and insects maybe.
 
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I've been wondering about B12 for a while now. It makes me irritable so I do wonder why I need it. I was told about it in my 30's, tried it, didn't like it. Now thirty years later I'm told to have it again, I still don't like it even though I'm vegan now so should need it, or maybe not.
 
Gary Yourofsky seems to indicate that b12 is produced naturally which I was really hoping was true.. any truth in that?
 
Ive found that Kelloggs All Bran contains 1.6 µg (63) of B12 per 100g
I'm 31 and male, can anyone tell me how much All Bran I should be eating each day to make sure I'm not deficient?

And is this method going to be ok? this is a real concern for me because I find the meals difficult enough to plan, without having to use an unnatural method of topping up my B12. I know some countries are used to taking vitamin tablets- but I am not and never thought i'd have to, especially in vegan diet which I had assumed was all natural

You will not get enough from cereal you would have to eat huge amounts they never put enough in there. I reccomend a tablet/supplement. What is natural in eating a cereal that has B12 in it anyway, it is no more natural that taking a tablet. I buy a cherry flavour one. I eat a sweet once a week as far as I'm concerned. If that's not natural then I guess I'll have to stop eating sweets! Just call it sweet instead of supplement if that helps.

B12 comes from bacteria in dirt. You can take a supplement that extracts the B12 you actually need without the need to eat dirt and bacteria. Or you can eat meat which will have B12 because the animals are either full of bacteria or eat dirty food or have been given as a supplement. Yes, we only get enough B12 by eating meat because some of the animals have been given supplements!

Hope that helps.
 
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Where can i get b12 in a village in a 3d world country? Excuse me but a supplement from usa would cost here a whole monthly food budget. What should i rot to get it naturally? Im not sure whether the whole b12 dilemma is real; maybe it is a myth created by meat capitalists? There are instances of people who up to the age of 20 did not taste meat because of poverty; there are those who eat it rarely (once a year). Where did these people get b12?

I don't agree with you about the cost. Look at this
https://www.iherb.com/pr/Jarrow-Formulas-Methyl-B-12-Cherry-Flavor-5000-mcg-60-Lozenges/117
That's US$15 for a supply that lasts over a year, that's about US$1 a month. OK, factor in shipping say $2 a month, hardly the whole monthly food budget.

How is your country's postal service? Or just try and order this product and see if you can get it? Do you have a credit card for ordering online?

A similar product may be available in your country. Ask in a pharmacy. Try and look on the internet for a vegan facebook group in your country and ask them. These ideas may not work but it's worth a try.

These people you mention may have got B12 from dairy or may have been deficient. It's not the case that vegans without B12 supplement get problems. Many of them, especially younger ones less susecptible to defincies, will get away with it - the point is it's a silly risk to take. If I close my eyes and walk across a road I probably won't die, but it would be foolish to do it. It's a needless risk and you gain nothing.

I hope that helps and best of look with you if you are transitioning to veganism. However, you don't have to go to 100% veganism immediately. For some people a steadier transition is more appropriate.

I do agree that the moral and practical case for veganism is stronger in Western countries like Europe, USA, however I think it's also possible almost anywhere with enough determination however you can decide what is best for you since we don't know your country well.
 
I was wondering when i sprout grains that were grown naturally without use of any chemicals, and i dont wash them (so that particles of soil, b12 bacteria are not removed), could there be any b12 in that mixture? If i add to it some naturally grown straw, will it help? How about the mixture that is fed to cows (grass, vegetables with water fermented)? I think there must be b12 in it. Can vegans create something like this? I see that you in the west live in an artificial world where everything is produced by machine.
 
Is there really anything wrong with machines though, I mean fundamentally. Aren't you using a machine to read this message right now, (probably one made by a company headquartered in the West or Asia rather than your country).

I agree with the concepts behind local, organic food, but really....eating dirty food rather than take a supplement...it's a strange way to think about it.

As far as I've heard, if you eat dirty vegetables you can get B12, hard to say how much.