Vitamin B12 Food Sources

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Vitamin B12 Food Sources
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Introduction
Most people get plenty of vitamin B12 in their
diets. Its found in animal foods of all kinds
meat, poultry, pork, fish, seafood, dairy, and
eggs. The two best sources of B12 by far are
clams and liver which contain 60 times more
vitamin B12 than beef and over 100 times more
than eggs. But for those who dont eat animal
products, getting adequate B12 is a very real
concern.
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Plant Sources of B12
Almost half of lacto-ovo vegetarians and over 90
of vegans are B12-deficient. And unfortunately,
theres a persistent dietary myth thats causing
a lot of these people real harm. Green algae like
spirulina, fermented soy products, and brewers
yeast are purported to be plant sources of
vitamin B12. But, in reality, these plant foods
contain B12 analogs which are similar to, but not
the same as, vitamin B12.
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B12 deficiency
By binding with B12 receptors, these
pseudovitamins block the intake of true B12. So
consuming these B12 analog-containing foods can
make a B12 deficiency even worse! The only
substantial vegetable source of true vitamin B12
is the sea vegetable nori (Porphyra umbilicalis).
Some vegetarians, and especially vegans, take
brewers yeast or yeast-based products like
Marmite or Red Star Nutritional Yeast believing
them to be a good food source of B12. But
nutritional yeast does not naturally contain B12
it is fortified with B12. This makes it no
different than taking a supplement.