Vegan Moms Need Their B12 to Prevent Brain Damage in Children

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Vegan Moms Need Their B12 to Prevent Brain Damage in Children

 

Vitamin B12 deficiency appears to be more common than doctors had

thought, and those in high-risk groups -- vegetarians, vegans and

adults over 50 -- are advised to take supplemental forms of the vitamin.

 

Only Found Naturally in Animal Products

 

B12 occurs naturally only in animal products: meats and, to a lesser

extent, milk and eggs. Because of this, vegetarians, especially

vegans, who eat no animal products at all, may have low stores of the

vitamin. Adults over 50 may also experience a thinning of the stomach

lining that decreases the release of digestive acids necessary for the

proper absorption of B12.

 

B12 is essential for maintaining healthy nerve and red blood cells. A

deficiency can cause symptoms including:

 

* Fatigue

* Dizziness

* Nerve damage

* Anemia

* Dementia

 

Nursing Mothers Must be Careful

 

Vegetarians and vegan women who breastfeed should be especially

careful to get enough B12, as deficiency in an infant can cause

irreversible neurological damage. Women who breastfeed are advised to

get at least 2.8 micrograms of B12 per day.

 

 

 

Medicine Net August 9, 2005

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Avoiding all animal protein can have devastating health consequences

to the children of mothers who pursue this approach. Even the

conservative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now warning

doctors to be aware of this issue and to place such women on vitamin

B12 supplements.

 

Since roughly 40 percent of the United States' population is deficient

in B12, and such deficiencies have the potential to cause permanent

nerve and brain damage, this is a very important topic. I am glad the

issue is being examined and addressed.

 

However, this article missed the point in one key regard; most oral

vitamin B12 supplements do not work well at all. Vitamin B12 is a very

large molecule, actually the largest vitamin, and it is not easily

absorbed. Your body has developed a very sophisticated system to

absorb B12, involving the production of an intrinsic factor in the

stomach that attaches to the B12 and allows it to be absorbed at the

end of the small intestine.

 

Therefore, if you suspect you are deficient in vitamin B12, for the

reasons listed in the article or any others (the very popular drug

Prilosec is a strong inhibitor of vitamin B12 absorption), I would

strongly encourage you to obtain your B12 in a more absorbable form,

such as injections. My recommendation for that would be to use 1 ml

once a day for two weeks, and then three times a week until you have

finished a 30-ml bottle.

 

An alternative to the injections would be to use DMSO and vitamin B12.

The DMSO allows the B12 to be absorbed easily without the pain of a

needle. Intranasal B12 is also available, but unless you have a

prescription card I would not recommend it, as it is very expensive.

 

 

 

Related Articles:

 

Vitamin B12: Are You Getting It?

 

You Can't Get All the Vitamin B12 You Need From Plant Sources

 

Vegetarians and Vegans Have Elevated Homocysteine Levels