Vegan and Vegetarians: Are You Getting Enough Vitamin B12 in your Diet?

With the recent popularity of the vegan lifestyle, many people are turning away from meat, fish, poultry and dairy products and looking to getting their proteins from beans and nuts. The vegetarian rage is a wonderful option for animal-conscious individuals who are put off by the idea of eating something that was once living. Although the vegan lifestyle is producing a population of generally healthy, lean individuals, it is also contributing many cases of vitamin b 12 deficiency within that population.

Foods that are rich in vitamin b 12 are protein-rich foods like beef, chicken and fish. Dairy foods are also rich in vitamin b 12 and people who forgo the meats, fish and dairy find themselves with a deficiency that has serious adverse effects on the body including pernicious anemia. Pernicious anemia is a condition in which the body loses red blood cells and may lead to nerve damage.

Look for the Warning Signs of a Vitamin B12 Deficiency

More and more children are following a vegetarian diet. In my daughter's grade 7 class alone, there are approximately six 13-year old kids that are vegetarians. Although I, too, followed a vegetarian diet for seven years when I was in my 20's, it was unheard of to be a vegetarian while still in elementary school. They even offer vegetarian hot dogs on our hot lunch program. This is of some concern because physicians note that children who follow a vegetarian diet often develop pernicious anemia. The condition can be treated with injections of vitamin b 12, but it is necessary for individuals to keep a continuous level of the vitamin in their systems. The stored nutrients prevent the individual from completely losing all stores of the vitamin if they return to a vegetarian lifestyle.

A deficiency of vitamin b 12 can also cause significant nerve damage. A common treatment for autism, a neurological disorder, is to add supplements of the nutrient to the autistic person's diet. Many families swear that the supplements result in fewer tantrums and less self stimulatory behaviors like hand flapping and pacing.

Taking supplements is the ideal approach to warding off any possible occurrence of deficiency. The good news is that it is almost impossible to overdose on vitamin b 12. The nutrient is water-soluble and passes through the urine. The bad news is that the body does not hold on to the nutrient in its cells for a very long time so it is necessary to keep up with taking supplements on a consistent basis.

Another piece of good news lies in the amount required for daily intake. We need relatively low amounts of vitamin b 12 in our diet to reap the benefits of the nutrient. And adults can find a full day's supply of the vitamin in a cup of milk, one egg and a four ounce serving of meat. A vegetarian would need to look to a supplement.