B12 deficiency but rarely eat meat
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Chris144mph
Posts: 66 Member
Hello all
I have recently been diagnosed B12 & vit d deficiency with low folate. I have had 2 of 6 B12 loading doses from gp but am struggling to find meal ideas that contain b12 that don't contain meat or is just a plate of spinach!
Does anyone else have any ideas please?
I have recently been diagnosed B12 & vit d deficiency with low folate. I have had 2 of 6 B12 loading doses from gp but am struggling to find meal ideas that contain b12 that don't contain meat or is just a plate of spinach!
Does anyone else have any ideas please?
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Replies
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Eggs, milk, fortified cereal and a few kinds of fish are all high in B12
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b12-foods#section97 -
Nutritional yeast is your friend. At least three serves a week will help you out13
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Vegemite3
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paperpudding wrote: »Vegemite
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I’ll second nutritional yeast, just make sure the one you’re using is the B12 fortified one, because non fortified is also available.
Also marmite, if you have that wherever you are.
For the Vitamin D - 20 mins a day outside without sunscreen, even on non sunny days. Sorted!2 -
You can also getB12 fortified vegan foods and milks.3
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Yep, fortified Nutritional Yeast can be used as a topping or an ingredient in sauces, breads, etc.
Marmite and Vegemite are also phenomenal for adding that savory flavor to recipes and sauces if you don't like eating it as a spread.
Your GP can and likely should also be able to give you some advice on an OTC supplement or a referral to a dietitian as well, if you need some more serious help dependant on your deficiency. I've been both B12 and D deficient in my life and was easily able to alter my diet and supplement regimen to resolve the issue within a year both time as evidenced by my blood tests at my annual physical.
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The reason you're struggling to find vegetable sources of B12 is that B12 isn't produced by plants. It's produced by bacteria, and the ecology of the whole business means that you can only get useful amount of B12 from animal products. That's why vegans are advised to eat fortified foods or take B12 supplements.
If you don't really eat animal products, give up on trying to get B12 naturally in your diet - you'll need to take a supplement.24 -
An FYI it is not recommended that people who have inflammatory intestinal issues eat nutritional yeast, so to be safe I always just take a supplement because I eat a minimal amount of animal proteins.6
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I assume you eat other animal products besides meat. If so, you may be able to get enough from dairy and/or eggs. However, if you don’t eat a lot of any kind of animal product or fortified food, you must supplement B12. Since you’re already being treated for a deficiency, I would ask your doctor to recommend supplements. https://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/vegan-nutrition-primers/vitamin-b12-a-vegan-nutrition-primer/7
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I assume you eat other animal products besides meat. If so, you may be able to get enough from dairy and/or eggs. However, if you don’t eat a lot of any kind of animal product or fortified food, you must supplement B12. Since you’re already being treated for a deficiency, I would ask your doctor to recommend supplements. https://www.theveganrd.com/vegan-nutrition-101/vegan-nutrition-primers/vitamin-b12-a-vegan-nutrition-primer/
Thanks for sharing what a great article!
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Chris144mph wrote: »Hello all
I have recently been diagnosed B12 & vit d deficiency with low folate. I have had 2 of 6 B12 loading doses from gp but am struggling to find meal ideas that contain b12 that don't contain meat or is just a plate of spinach!
Does anyone else have any ideas please?
I'm not sure whether Yves vegetarian products are available where you live, but I know that one of their 45-calorie veggie dogs contains 30% of the B12 RDA. Haven't paid much attention to their other product labels, but it wouldn't shock me to discover that the veggie dogs aren't the only ones with this micro.2 -
Often a B12 deficiency is due to pernicious anaemia, so your body is unable to absorb/process the B12, rather than not having enough of it in your diet (hence they give you injections rather than tablets) so I'd speak to your GP about this before making big changes to your diet... if your body can't absorb it you can eat B12 rich foods all day long & it won't make any difference to your B12 levels3
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My experience with anemia has taught me that rather than relying on fortified foods, find a reputable supplement provider and take a supplement.2
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Thanks to everyone who responded. Just to clarify I am under gp currently halfway through having b12 injections loading dose (6.over 2weeks)
I love marmite but am lactose intolerant so although I have lactofree milk, cheese, spread etc its not very often.
Guess it's down to H&B for folate & vit D!0 -
Chris144mph wrote: »Thanks to everyone who responded. Just to clarify I am under gp currently halfway through having b12 injections loading dose (6.over 2weeks)
I love marmite but am lactose intolerant so although I have lactofree milk, cheese, spread etc its not very often.
Guess it's down to H&B for folate & vit D!
Has your GP discussed what to do after your injections are done? Being deficient in three vitamins would make me ask about possible underlying causes. It may not be just a dietary problem.
B12 is stored in the liver. It would generally take some time (think several years) of getting no dietary B12 before you'd develop a deficiency. If you've been getting some B12 but not enough, then you'd have to have been in that situation for many years in order to deplete the B12 stored in your liver. That, of course, is assuming that you don't have an underlying medical condition.
There are disorders that keep your body from absorbing the vitamins you eat. Bowel conditions like celiac disease or Crohn's disease can cause deficiencies in all three of those vitamins because even if you are eating enough of these things, your body may not be able to absorb the vitamins in your food.
I would consider it worthwhile to ask the doctor whether you might have some underlying medical condition, especially if you have any other symptoms.3 -
I know at least in Canada, Tofurky and Field roast vegan sausages contain a great amount of B12. Over 100% of the RDA per sausage last I had them.0
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Many fortified foods, but b12 supplement once a week to be safe. Ironically B-12 deficiencies are always linked to plant based eaters, however many meat eaters have similar issues. I didn’t start eating plant based until January, but have twice in the last 6 years had to go on shots because of being deficient, and I was a heavy meat eater. B12 deficiency’s can be very dangerous so keep an eye on it2
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It sounds like your GP needs to clarify whether s/he is confident that this stems from a dietary deficiency, or whether you in fact have Pernicious Anaemia. Have you had a blood test for intrinsic factor antibodies?3
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My husband was diagnosed with B12 deficiency and his doctor prescribed the shots because he is not absorbing B12 from his food. He gets a shot once a month.1
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