vegan blood results

paky

hey there,

got results on my blood this morning, been vegan year and half now. not sure what to make of them.
the only problems that showed up is b12 and iron.
the doctor said my iron was in a normal range but low for a man?
the b12 was at 118 which is low. everthing else seemed to be fine including calcium! so the doctor has proscribed me some b12 injections and supplements.

paky

Jim

paky wrote: »

hey there,

got results on my blood this morning, been vegan year and half now. not sure what to make of them.
the only problems that showed up is b12 and iron.
the doctor said my iron was in a normal range but low for a man?
the b12 was at 118 which is low. everthing else seemed to be fine including calcium! so the doctor has proscribed me some b12 injections and supplements.

paky

Good stuff. Do you take many supplements already? Or just make sure you eat the right things?

Ice.

paky wrote: »

hey there,

got results on my blood this morning, been vegan year and half now. not sure what to make of them.
the only problems that showed up is b12 and iron.
the doctor said my iron was in a normal range but low for a man?
the b12 was at 118 which is low. everthing else seemed to be fine including calcium! so the doctor has proscribed me some b12 injections and supplements.

paky

Eat more greens like spinach for iron. Make sure you consume some Vitamin C at the same time to increase absorption.

As for B12, ain't nuthin wrong with injections or supplements there. B12 is often mistakingly viewed as a vegan only problem when in reality it's a common deficiency across society regardless of dietary choice. I suspect if more people got their levels checked we would see more instances of deficiency.

paky

Jim wrote: »

Good stuff. Do you take many supplements already? Or just make sure you eat the right things?

i dont take any supplements at all. im not a big beleiver in supplements, do they work?

paky

Ice. wrote: »

Eat more greens like spinach for iron. Make sure you consume some Vitamin C at the same time to increase absorption.

As for B12, ain't nuthin wrong with injections or supplements there. B12 is often mistakingly viewed as a vegan only problem when in reality it's a common deficiency across society regardless of dietary choice. I suspect if more people got their levels checked we would see more instances of deficiency.

thanks ice. the doctor gave me a chart with foods containing b12. she advised me to consume eggs since all other forms were meat based. how much b12 is necessary?

Ice.

paky wrote: »

thanks ice. the doctor gave me a chart with foods containing b12. she advised me to consume eggs since all other forms were meat based. how much b12 is necessary?

B12 is produced by bacteria, not plants or animals. If animal products were a reliable source of B12 then meat eaters would never become B12 deficient, neither would fortifying grains with B12 supplements be necessary. You ever wonder why this is done when virtually everyone in the developed world consumes meat and dairy?

Best thing is to take a B12 supplement and 6 months later get your levels tested again to see if there's any change. Generally 500-1000mcg twice a week should be sufficient for most people unless their B12 levels are really low. In which case I would suggest starting with 1000mcg daily for one month and then going down to the twice weekly dose.

SteelyDanJalapeno

paky wrote: »

i dont take any supplements at all. im not a big beleiver in supplements, do they work?

Needing supplements would indicate your diet is lacking something essential, find out where you can get it naturally before supplements if possible.

spiralbound

paky wrote: »

i dont take any supplements at all. im not a big beleiver in supplements, do they work?

Vegan foods, unless fortified, don't have any B12. I take a multivitamin mostly to get B12 and D, neither of which are found in a vegan diet without some form of supplementation.

So, if you're not consuming any B12, then a vitamin pill will work, you don't need to believe in it

Breezer

Just to make a general point that the average person has enough B12 stored to last 5 years. It's something vegans in particular need to be careful of, as blood results may not show any problem for quite a while, nor will you get symptoms, which can be falsely reassuring. B12 deficiency does nasty things. I took no supplements as a vegetarian but do as a vegan, I'd strongly advocate others to do the same, it makes life far simpler.

Serendipity99

There is only ONE source of B12 for Vegans and that is supplements.

Here's a good vegan health site which explains this: http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/vitaminb12

The Vegan Society UK sell a supplement called 'Veg1' which most vegans I know recommend. It must be bought online and costs around a fiver: http://shop.vegansociety.com/index.php?cPath=33&osCsid=r4akk8g11gguvvii4a26md3vr6

You can also get a supplement called 'Vegan' from Holland and Barrett, or try any health shop.

Mellor

Ice. wrote: »

B12 is produced by bacteria, not plants or animals. If animal products were a reliable source of B12 then meat eaters would never become B12 deficient, neither would fortifying grains with B12 supplements be necessary. You ever wonder why this is done when virtually everyone in the developed world consumes meat and dairy?

B12 comes from bacteria, but it can do so indirectly through animal sources. The problem is not all sources are equal, chicken breast is low, beef isn't very high either. Things like liver (as that is where the body stores it), giblets and seafood are very high. But seeing as a lot of people don't eat these meat eaters often can still become deficient.

It's a tricky nutrient and vegans have it even harder than anyoen to get enough. As far as I know supplements are the only option.

Msking

You can find this in Corn Flakes! But some own brand stores have higher than Kelloggs. Also the nature valley bars (I think) have a pretty high RDA for them. I went to doc for 3 months to get injections and they done nothing, I still feel awful run down . Iron levels ok and been a veggie for 25 years!

flikflak

You can also get nutritonal yeast with b12 in (look for the blue tub) and also the meridian yeast extract I have is a good source of it.

sweet-rasmus

Msking wrote: »

You can find this in Corn Flakes! But some own brand stores have higher than Kelloggs.

But any vegans would want to steer clear of Kelloggs Corn Flakes as they contain D3 from sheep's wool. They made the change recently enough.

Msking

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

But any vegans would want to steer clear of Kelloggs Corn Flakes as they contain D3 from sheep's wool. They made the change recently enough.

Oh right, its natural and no harm to the animals but I understand for vegans. PS not on my box of corn flakes here!

Ice.

Mellor wrote: »

B12 comes from bacteria, but it can do so indirectly through animal sources. The problem is not all sources are equal, chicken breast is low, beef isn't very high either. Things like liver (as that is where the body stores it), giblets and seafood are very high. But seeing as a lot of people don't eat these meat eaters often can still become deficient.

Yes but animals get their B12 through diet. When ruminants like cattle become B12 deficient (deficiency signs include lack of appetite and subsequent emaciation) farmers will supplement the soil they graze in and/or their feed with cobalt as the bacteria that produce B12 need cobalt to produce it. They do NOT feed cattle animal products. There are numerous reasons why an animal may become B12 deficient but a primary one is consuming food grown in mineral deficient soil, NOT from a lack of animal products in their diet. Also, what do seafood eaters do about mercury, adrenaline, cholesterol, uric acid and the naturally occuring waste products from the seafood themselves?

Mellor wrote: »

It's a tricky nutrient and vegans have it even harder than anyoen to get enough. As far as I know supplements are the only option.

I see nothing wrong with taking a B12 supplement/injection. Problem solved.

Msking wrote: »

I went to doc for 3 months to get injections and they done nothing, I still feel awful run down . Iron levels ok and been a veggie for 25 years!

You might not be consuming enough calories. That can lead to feeling run down, lethargic etc. Also make sure you are drinking enough water. You could be dehydrated without even knowing it. Waiting for thirst is too late.

Mellor

Ice. wrote: »

Also, what do seafood eaters do about mercury, adrenaline, cholesterol, uric acid and the naturally occuring waste products from the seafood themselves?

Some of the more longer term pescatarians that post here might be able to answer that better than me. I think mercury and some of the others are over stated, and I wasn't aware there was an adrenaline issue with seafood. Is that a typo?

I see nothing wrong with taking a B12 supplement/injection. Problem solved.

Nor do I. Can't think of any downside tbh