Vitamin B12 is essential for our body, and especially important in vegan and vegetarian diets since we only find it in animal foods. We discover why it is essential and what to do if you follow these diets.
If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, it is quite likely that you have already realized the controversy that exists in relation to certain nutritional deficiencies, and basically in what refers to possible deficiencies of vitamin B12, also known nutritionally as cobalamin. It is, as we will see throughout this note, an essential vitamin for our nervous system and that is not found in foods of plant origin, hence if a person does not consume products of animal origin it is necessary to obtain it from nutritional supplements.
Vitamin B12 consists of a product of the body’s metabolism, which belongs to the group of B complex vitamins and was originally discovered in 1948, standing out precisely because it was the last true and real vitamin to be classified. It is also known by the name of cobalamin because in its chemical structure we can find cobalt.
Certain studies have confirmed the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in people who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, and it is also quite common in those who follow an ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet. Hence, it is essential to worry about discovering how to meet the requirements of B12 or cobalamin safely.
Why is vitamin B12 so important? Its main functions:
Vitamin B12 is essential for our body because it becomes an essential nutrient for our nervous system, in addition to participating very actively in a wide variety of functions:
- Essential for the formation of red blood cells.
- It is involved in the synthesis of proteins, DNA and RNA.
- Participates in the synthesis of neurotransmitters.
- Fundamental and necessary in the transformation of fatty acids into energy.
- Necessary for the correct metabolism of folic acid.
- Participates and intervenes in the functioning of the immune system.
- It maintains the myelin sheath of the various nerve cells.
- Helps in maintaining the energy reserve of the muscles.
Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency or deficiency
As many nutritionists state, for the reserves of vitamin B12 to be depleted it is necessary that a relatively long time elapse. However, when the reserves of this vitamin are depleted, the symptoms of its deficiency can occur very quickly, and some of them tend not to be irreversible.
Its deficiency causes the appearance of a pernicious anemia, also known as megaloblastic anemia, causing an alteration of the precursor cells of the bone marrow; that is, we are faced with a lack of red blood cells.
Once pernicious anemia appears, the symptoms caused by vitamin B12 deficiency are the following:
- Lack of appetite
- Pale skin
- Numbness of hands and feet.
- Diarrhea.
- Dizziness and nausea
- Concentration and confusion problems.
Daily requirements of vitamin B12
According to the Department of Nutrition of the IOM and USDA, below is the table of requirements and daily needs of vitamin B12:
| Age | Men | Women | |
| 0-6 months | 0.4 µg | 0.4 µg | |
| 7-12 months | 0.5 µg | 0.5 µg | |
| 1-3 years | 0.9 µg | 0.9 µg | |
| 4-8 years | 1.2 µg | 1.2 µg | |
| 9-13 years | 1.8 µg | 1.8 µg | |
| 14-18 years | 2.4 µg | 2.4 µg | |
| 19-50 years | 2.4 µg | 2.4 µg | |
| From 50 years | 2.4 µg | 2.4 µg | |
| Pregnancy | 2.6 µg | ||
| Lactation | 2.8 µg |
Why should vegetarians, vegans, and lacto-ovo vegetarians take vitamin B12 supplements?
We must bear in mind that vitamin B12 is obtained from the consumption of foods of animal origin, such as shellfish, eggs, dairy products and poultry, while plant foods do not contain bioavailable cobalamin, but only analogues or coronoids.
These analogs in fact have a negative influence on the absorption of true vitamin B12, and may even falsify the results obtained in a blood test, so that in reality the person may be suffering from a deficiency of this vitamin and yet not it is diagnosed until the symptoms caused by its deficiency do not appear.
Yes, it is possible to find vitamin B12 in some, such as nori seaweed, and also in some foods such as tempeh, although at the moment it is not possible to confirm whether they can be used as reliable nutritional sources.
If you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet, for your peace of mind we must tell you that vitamin B12 supplements are not of animal origin but of bacterial synthesis, and are also very safe. In this sense, the most appropriate thing is to choose cyanocobalamin, one of the safest and most studied.
