B-12 Supplement-vegan or not?
Posted by little2ant on Mar 01, 2009 · Member since Aug 2004 · 3055 posts
So I can't find my copy of animal ingredients A-Z (very handy when I can find it~!)
And I'm trying to figure out if this supplement if I have is vegan or not. I'm getting mixed info on the net-either that or my brain isn't awake enough to decipher!
cyanocobalamin
do you know off hand if this source is vegan or not?
??? ???
From what I found on the internet, it is vegan, but this was interesting
http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=257
I think that its just the name for B12, so you cant distinguish it from that. Again, i'm not positive.
I found this interesting too...
http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-7d.shtml
I don't see it even listed in Animal Ingredients A to Z :-/
Here's what my dietitian just told me about B12:
She said that we (vegans) do get B12 through grains and such. A regular vegan multivitamin will have enough to cover your needs. She said that many people have this misconception that we need to take supplements because B12 is essential to the function of metabolism. Of course people took that to the next step and assumed that if you took tons of B12, you would speed up your metabolism, which isn't true.
I was taking a vegan B12 supplement and she made me stop taking it. Just putting it out there for your consideration!
yea, I was never too sure about the b12 for myself...
a friend of mine had a big issue with it so he praises it a lot.
I take a supplement every so often, just to be safe.
I found this interesting too...
http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-7d.shtml
interesting is the right word for this one! Let's make sure its vegan manure! lol
Here's what my dietitian just told me about B12:
She said that we (vegans) do get B12 through grains and such. A regular vegan multivitamin will have enough to cover your needs. She said that many people have this misconception that we need to take supplements because B12 is essential to the function of metabolism. Of course people took that to the next step and assumed that if you took tons of B12, you would speed up your metabolism, which isn't true.
I was taking a vegan B12 supplement and she made me stop taking it. Just putting it out there for your consideration!
More important than the actual amount of B12 you're taking is how well your body breaks it down and absorbs it. Our class took blood tests to see what nutrients we were lacking, thyroid issues etc. It was amazing to see who was B deficient and the slew of other problems almost everyone in the class had that they never would have known about if they had not taken this inexpensive blood test. I have not received my results back yet, but I am very interested to find out what they say.. Another student found out she had a parasite, was hyper glycemic and much more.
I think usually what will make a B12 supplement not vegan is the presence of lactose - common in some sublingual supplements (it would be listed on the ingredients). To my knowledge, B12 in supplements comes from culturing B12-producing bacteria (since they're the actual only source, and many animals get their B12 from their gut bacteria that produce it). It would be rather... uh, difficult harvesting B12 from its source in herbivorous animals: partially digested food/fecal matter.
Apparently, though, some of the bacteria used to produce B12 are GM to produce huge quantities :-\ They should be able to just get B12 out of the mix and no weird byproducts, but who knows.
I also read years ago that one is born with enough B12, where the problem might lie is is one has a deficiency.
If a mineral or vitamin is processed through plants but the sources are indeed animal waste, is it vegan?
Its this 'circle of life' that were are dependent upon. Some of us choose a different circle path from the same epicenter.
Micro/macrocosmic and sacred geometry.
holy new age batman!
B12 requires "intrinsic factor" to be absorbed. Intrinsic factor is excreted by the stomach lining, binds the dietary B12, and when the food reaches the small intestine, the B12/intrinsic factor can be absorbed. Some people inherently lack sufficient amounts of intrinsic factor (because the immune system either destroys/binds intrinsic factor itself or the cells that secrete it), and some people have impaired intrinsic factor production as a result of gastric surgery. So it's not so much that you're born with enough B12, but enough intrinsic factor to get by with normal amounts of dietary B12. It's the reason why B12 supplements have such huuuge amounts - because people with a deficiency in intrinsic factor take them, and they need a megadose in order to absorb the much smaller needed amount.
Ah, great way of explaining it! Much clearer.
yes, much clearer! thanks for the info!
i just saw vegan sublinguil b-12 tablets on amazon, i think it was vega brand. (just in case people are still interested)
how many of you guys take a B12 suppliment? I never have and was curious how many do take one
I take a sublingual occasionally, but don't really think about it much. When I'm feeling run down, I'll take one (though I think it's more placebo effect than anything ::) ). But I definitely don't take a daily one nor a weekly. Really it's less than a few times a month if that.
I had a sublingual spray that lasted me forever and ran out a couple months ago. I recently got tablets (not sublingual... apparently there's not a huge difference in absorption) only because they were on sale at Target *and* I had a coupon (hehe). I take them weekly.
If I get into a particular vet school, I have to have a physical (first one in four years...) and a whole load of vaccinations, so I figure maybe I'll take the opportunity to get some sort of blood test for B12/whatever. Apparently it's not expensive.
Off topic, but FB if you end up at vet school at CSU, we will have to have pot lucks :)>>>
Good luck with the application process--I've heard it's quite the ordeal!
I have to get B12 shots monthly and take Iron too. I have fibromyalgia and my B12 is bottomed out unless I get shots. I eat a varried diet and get lots of veggies, but my body has never been good at processing it I guess. One note, I found out I was b12 deficiient after a blood test because I was beyond exhausted, my doc looked at my tests and said no wonder, I had practically no B12 in my system!
P and I take a sublingual tablet once every month/few months, or so...just because. It's the GNC B-12 1000 cherry. It's vegan as far as I can tell-says "vegetarian," and "no dairy." The ingredients are basically just different sugars and cherry flavor.
Has anyone else seen a B12 transdermal patch that you can wear? I think I saw it in Walgreens, and am wondering if that would work like the shots, but be cheaper in the long run? Kiinda like a nicotine patch, but with B12 in it.