Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential vitamin, required for DNA synthesis (and ultimately cell division) and for maintaining nerve myelin integrity.
It is found almost exclusively in animal-based products including red meats, poultry, seafood, milk, cheese and eggs. As vitamin B12 is produced by bacteria in the large intestines of animals, plant-based foods are generally not a source of vitamin B12. It is therefore a nutrient of concern for vegetarians and particularly for vegans who choose an entirely plant-based diet.
Vegetarians are at risk for vitamin B12 (B12) deficiency due to suboptimal intake. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also lead to demyelinisation of peripheral nerves, the spinal cord, cranial nerves and the brain, resulting in nerve damage and neuropsychiatric abnormalities. Vitamin B12 deficiency among vegetarians depends mainly on the type of vegetarian diet individuals adhere to. Vegan individuals have the highest risk and more of them develop a deficiency, compared to vegetarians, while deficiency among vegetarians, although also wide-spread, is less prevalent.
The newest recommendations call for intake of 4.0 μg/day in adults, 4.5 μg/day during pregnancy and 5.0 μg/day while breastfeeding. In the United States, ready-to-eat cereals fortified with Vitamin B12 comprise a high proportion of the dietary Vitamin B12 intake.
Several research groups have suggested that eating a breakfast cereal fortified with folic acid, Vitamins B12 and B6 increases the blood concentrations of these vitamins and decreases the total homocysteine concentrations in the plasma of elderly subjects. Thus, Vitamin B12-fortified breakfast cereals may be a particularly valuable source of Vitamin B12 for vegetarians.
Vitamin B12 for vegetarian
