Learning about B12 (kidney, blood, depression, surgery)

[dustin183]

I've been learning lately about Vitamin B12. It seems to me that many people are deficient and probably don't know it.
Last year, over a period of months my dad was complaining about feeling low-energy, couldn't think straight, just felt weird and couldn't really describe it.

A few months later, I had read up on Vit B12 as I was trying to figure out why I felt better after eating certain foods. I told my dad it sounds like he has a Vit B deficiency. He says "oh, I just got a blood test and the Dr said I had a Vit B deficiency".

My dad is 75. He's always eaten a fairly balanced, somewhat healthy, diet. But lately made some changes based on what his other son was telling him.

Another friend of mine is suffering from depression. I asked him if he knows anything about Vit B12... he says "oh yeah, I eat lots of salads".... so it was clear he doesn't know that B12 is from animal sources. I didn't yet have the courage to tell him that as I didn't want offend him. He's vegatarian and some of them, you have to tread lightly as they can get quite defensive.

But yeah, I guess my point is that what I'm seeing is that there are probably a good amount of people who simply don't realize that they need B12 and who probably aren't aware of symptoms they have that could be caused by B12 deficiency. And these symptoms are no joke. They really affect one's health quite severely.

Note: I like salads too. Frankly, I eat just about anything. I'm not here to push any diet. I'm simply interested in the chemistry/biology behind these nutrients and their effect on the human body.

[Robinwomb]

I agree that B12 is often overlooked when people complain of certain symptoms. I was vegan for over six years and I had all kinds of symptoms, but I also had anorexia nervosa for four of the six years I was vegan (and I was anorexic for two years prior). I did supplement b12 when vegan because I understood that unless I ate a lot of processed fortified foods my diet would not contain this important nutrient. I am also allergic to nutritional yeast (and I mean severely allergic). I was a whole foods plant based vegan and rarely ate anything fortified because it wasn't a whole food. So I did supplement. I had some tests for B12 when I started having a myriad of symptoms. But my labs were healthy in 600 range (one was 691 pg/mL for example). I believe it was because of the supplement.

I "stepped down" to pescetarian in 2017 (now include dairy, eggs, and fish in diet but no meat) and thought I could stop taking b12 as I get it naturally now. However, I had a test done one year into being pescetarian and b12 dropped to low 400s so to be safe I resumed the b12 supplement.

I know of some vegans who think that they can get enough b12 by eating vegetables grown in rich soil and think it's a myth that humans need b12 on a plant based diet. I find this Ludacris and dangerous. B12 deficiency is a very real problem. Most omnivores yes get it from their diet and it's not an issue. But there are people who lack intrinsic factor needed to absorb and utilize b12 in the body, and they must get b12 injections straight into the blood or sublingually. that has nothing to do with diet. I used to roll my eyes (even when I was vegan) when other vegans would say that most meat eaters are also deficient. no one in my entire extended family or on my husband's, all meat eaters, has ever been b12 deficient or needed to supplement b12 except my mother who was on a starvation diet for a year (she lost 160 lbs but gained back 200 eventually).

In my medical coding career and being responsible for coding infusions and injections, I have seen a number of vegetarians needing b12 injections for dangerously low b12, and also iron infusions for low iron. Interestingly, the meat eaters who get these injections and infusions are generally anemic or low in b12 due to chronic kidney disease, Crohns, Celiac disesase, or gastric bypass surgery (another one that causes low b12).