Contents
- 1 Should all types of vegetarians take supplements?
- 1.1 Do I have to supplement with vitamin B12 if I eat eggs or dairy?
- 1.2 Why is it recommended to supplement with B12 if you already eat dairy or eggs?
- 1.3 How many eggs are needed to get all the vitamin B12 you need in a day?
- 1.4 Are enriched or fortified foods rich in B12?
- 1.5 Vitamin B12 storage in the body
- 1.6 Is it possible to avoid or not taking vitamin B12 supplements if you eat eggs or dairy products?
Should all types of vegetarians take supplements?
Do I have to supplement with vitamin B12 if I eat eggs or dairy?
Reader question: I read one of your articles about vegetarianism and vitamin B12, and I was surprised that every vegetarian diet requires a B12 supplement. Aren’t those diets supposed to include animal products like dairy or eggs?
I’ve heard that two eggs a week are enough for all the B12 we need, and I don’t see the need for supplementation if it’s already present in the diet or in fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals or vegetable milk…
Why is it recommended to supplement with B12 if you already eat dairy or eggs?
As the reader rightly says, theoretically, dairy products and eggs have vitamin B12, and for a long time it was believed that supplementation wasn’t necessary. This was even stated on Botanical’s own website online until a few years ago. The problem is that this information is a myth.
It has been repeated ad nauseam that everything of animal origin is rich in vitamin B12, when in reality this is not the case. Consulting a food composition table, one can see that dairy products and eggs are not very rich in vitamin B12, especially compared to fish and shellfish, which are the foods richest in this vitamin.
This is confirmed by observing that vegetarian populations have low levels of vitamin B12 in the blood and that there are many people who have deficiencies (they can be due to various causes).
How many eggs are needed to get all the vitamin B12 you need in a day?
It’s a myth that “two eggs a week are enough for all the B12 we need.” Two eggs provide 1.1 mcg of vitamin B12, which is 1/3 of the recommended daily intake of this vitamin. Therefore, it seems that two eggs a week would be completely insufficient to obtain the recommended weekly amount of B12. According to the nutritional tables, if you do not consume other foods of animal origin, you would have to eat about 6 eggs a day to get the recommended 3 mcg of vitamin B12 per day.
Are enriched or fortified foods rich in B12?
Mentioning your reference if fortified foods are a good source of B12, you should tell them that they usually come very sugary (breakfast cereals, cocoa powder, fortified vegetable drinks and sugar,…).
In addition, “enriched” products usually contain very low amounts of B12 per serving, insufficient for vegetarians and vegans. In this case, there is no doubt that it is healthier, more effective, and more economical to use supplements.
Vitamin B12 storage in the body
Problems due to a lack of B12 in healthy vegetarians will probably appear in the medium or long term, because the body has a small store of B12.
We take this opportunity to debunk a widespread myth that there is a store of vitamin B12 and that therefore you can go up to 4 years without ingesting it. It should be known that some problems caused by the deficiency of this vitamin are irreversible and it is not advisable to wait long to decide to take supplementation (brain injuries in young children, injuries to artery walls, etc.).
Is it possible to avoid or not taking vitamin B12 supplements if you eat eggs or dairy products?
On the subject of vitamin B12 supplementation and vegetarianism, we could tell you that, at least in general, it is ALWAYS recommended to take B12 supplements, because as you well know, these recommendations are directed at all types of people (sick, healthy, elderly, people who take medications, children and pregnant women).
In each case, the safest and most beneficial thing is to take a B12 supplement since it has many more potential advantages than disadvantages.
Therefore, regardless of the case, it should be understood that the recommendation to take vitamin B12 in case of vegetarianism is a general recommendation, to the entire population. For all these reasons, for more personalized advice, if you do not want to take supplements because you think you have enough B12, you can go to your doctor and confirm it with blood tests.
More information on vitamins
