Vegan Nutrition with Marty Davey

Marty Davey is a Registered Dietitian and has a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition from Marywood University. She became a vegetarian in 1980 when she discovered that the chemicals in American meat made them unsellable to Europeans. She and her husband have raised their son as a vegan. She teaches nutrition and has a private practice specializing in assisting clients transitioning to a plant-based regime step by step. Her website is martydavey.com

Vitamin B 12 Deficiency: Symptoms of vitamin b 12 deficiency

I have been on a vegan diet for about 2 years now and definitely don't plan on ever going back but I think I may be missing some very vital nutrients but not sure which! I have become extremely emotional and tear up at the smallest things- I don't want to blame it on my diet because it's my fault I'm not taking any supplements but I'm not sure which ones to take. I swear I have been crying the last three days and my family is getting worried talking about I need more protein but I'm not going to go bite into a burger just because I'm sad! Please help! I don't want to become a pill-aholic and want to take as few supplements as possible- do you know what I may be deficient in that is causing this or is this completely unheard of?

Article continues below

Dear World of Veg Heads,

Please click on this link and read about whatever problem you have. Unless it is rickets or toe fungus it is probably related to B12. And let us all thank Jack Norris, RD for putting this website together.

All together now: Thanks, Jack.

http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/

It's okay, those of you in the back who are a little shy. He knows.

Now that I have completely ticked off my young writer, those of you who are left will get the full explanation.

I heard Jack Norris speak about B12 deficiency at a conference many years ago. He is also one of the two people who started Vegan Outreach. If you have heard of Vegan Outreach it is probably from a local college campus. Jack has also written and updates this website on B12.

The Skinny: There are no reliable food sources of B12 for vegans. Without supplementing you are opening the door for stroke, depression and possible cancer production.

The Full Story - useful for bouts of insomnia

B12 is formed from bacteria. It is found in animal products only. There are many people who have said that B12 was found in soil. Humans ate plants with a small amount of this soil and could derive sufficient amounts of B12 subsisting on plant-foods only. That may have been in the past, but it is not part of the 21st century food chain. If you are vegan and you want sufficient B12, you need to supplement.

Here are some of the B12 symptoms:

amenorrhea
depression
fatigue
impotence
infertility nausea
loss of motor movement
memory loss
nervousness
numbness

Many people think that vegetarians and vegans have a longer lifespan than omnivores. However, the EPIC Oxford study has shown that we will probably live about the same amount of years as any one else. The EPIC Oxford study is, according to their website:

"European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) was initiated in 1992 and is the largest detailed study of diet and health ever undertaken. It involves over 500,000 people in 10 European countries (see EPIC-Europe). It is coordinated by the World Health Organization . . ."

What they say is that non-veg heads die from heart disease and cancer, and veg heads die from stroke and neural issues. Both of these are related to B12 deficiency.

The body naturally digests a protein called methionine from food. Your body turns methionine into another protein, homocysteine [HCY]. HCY is a vessel and neural toxin. Bad news. Then, your body uses B12, B6 and another important substance you get from food, folate [as in foliage] to turn HCY back to methionine. If you don't have B12, you won't make the second conversion. You end up with evil HCY levels. High HCY levels have been known to cause the stroke and neural problems stated above. Additionally, you could be setting yourself up for Alzheimer's, birth defects, and eye disorders.

I would strongly suggest you get your B12 tested. The test you should get is the MMA or Methylmalonic Acid test. MMA can be measured in the blood or urine. The levels are high when B12 is deficient.

What to do when levels are high? Take a supplement of B12. I would suggest, but ask your doctor, that you take 2000 mcg per week for the first month. There are 1000 mcg tablets. You would take them two times per week. Make sure the tablets are for SUBLINGUAL. That means under the tongue. We have good evidence that more B12 is absorbed when taken sublingual. Let it melt in your mouth. None of the tablets I have had taste bad.

I would also invest in Vitamin D, 4000 international units daily if you are indoors for most of the day or live above Atlanta, Georgia. You can opt out during the summer if you are outside most of the time or are outside without sun screen in the early morning or late afternoon hours.

I do not recommend multi-vitamins because research shows that most of them do not have what they state on the label.

No one wants to be a pill-aholic. I agree with you that we need to be judicious in our supplements otherwise all you end up with is expensive urine. However, there are just some vitamins you can't do without and this is one of them. I applaud your commitment to staying vegan, but do it smart.

Again, thanks, Jack for this great information and all the work you do at Vegan Outreach.

Get your own personal nutrition consultation with Marty here.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

See full index of questions

Sponsors: