B12 Status of Whole Foods Vegans Consuming Nori and Mushrooms
In a 2014 study from Germany (1), a group of 10 whole foods vegans, who did not take supplements, were found to have methylmalonic acid (MMA) levels of almost 400 nmol/l. MMA is the most specific way to measure vitamin B12 status, with healthy levels being 270 nmol/l or less.
A second group of vegans who supplemented – it’s not clear with how much but it seems to have been at least 2 doses of 1,000 µg/week of B12 on average – had MMA levels of just above 200 nmol/l.
The whole foods-only vegans were given a minimum of 12 g/week of nori and 15 g/week of sun dried mushrooms, which the researchers calculated to contain an average of 3.1 µg/day of vitamin B12; the RDA is 2.4 µg. Their MMA levels were measured every 2 months for 8 months and they did not dip much below 350 nmol/l.
The vegans who took supplements were given more B12 than normal (though it’s not clear how much), and their MMA levels steadily decreased to about 150 nmol/l at 6 months, but then back up to 200 nmol/l at 8 months.
This research indicates that at the amounts given, nori and sun dried mushrooms do not improve vitamin B12 status.
I have updated the VeganHealth.org article B12 in Plant Foods with this information.
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References
1. Schwarz J, Dschietzig T, Schwarz J, Dura A, Nelle E, Watanabe F, Wintgens KF, Reich M, Armbruster FP. The influence of a whole food vegan diet with Nori algae and wild mushrooms on selected blood parameters. Clin Lab. 2014;60(12):2039-50. | link
February 12th, 2015 at 8:34 am
It’s good to finally see a study done with humans rather than rats. Even though the non-supplementing vegans turned out to be low in B12 and D, it’s helpful to see that they were good on everything else.
The study says they ate a minimum of 12g a week of nori. I eat about 35g a week. Does the study have anyone eating that much? I don’t eat seaweed for B12; I eat it for iodine and because it tastes good. For B12, I rely on B12-fortified soy milk and take a B12 supplement. My doctor said last year that I could stop the B12 supplement given that my blood levels are in the 900-range but I’ve only cut back so far since I wanted to finish off the bottle.
February 12th, 2015 at 9:18 am
Brandon,
> Does the study have anyone eating that much?
They didn’t report how much any given individual was eating.
June 11th, 2015 at 2:05 am
I am currently living in Kazakhstan and the only B12 supplement available is 500mg cyanocobalamin B12 (saline) ampules, I have been drinking the solution, is it safe to do so and is it as effective as if I were taking a 500 microgram tablet?
Thanks
Jonathan
June 11th, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Jonathan,
I assume you mean it’s intended for B12 injections? I don’t know if it’s safe to take something like that orally. Can you order B12 supplements from out the country to be shipped to you?
June 11th, 2015 at 7:00 pm
Thanks Jack,
Yes, it’s meant for injections, I’ve been taking it like this for 2 months, with no noticeable side effects, but big improvements in memory. I’m using it as a stop-gap until I get some B12 tablets in the UK next month.