There is one vitamin that all vegans and vegetarians MUST take as a supplement, and that is vitamin B12.
There are two reasons for this.
First, vitamin B12 is an "essential" vitamin, which means it is something we must have otherwise we will develop a deficiency disease, but it is a vitamin that is not made by our bodies so must be consumed from food or supplements. Food is always better than supplements, but because of the nature of vitamin B12 we basically have no option other than to take a vitamin B12 supplement.
Which leads to the second reason why we need to supplement vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 is actually created by bacteria in soil and is not found in plants. In the past, we were able to get the small doses of vitamin B12 that we need from the residual soil left on plants that we ate. However today we don't forage for food, and most of us don't grow our own vegetables, but rather we head off to the supermarket or grocery store and buy bags of triple-washed vegetables, with no no traces of soil on them; so even this traditional source of vitamin B12 is "down the drain".
This video below from Nutrition Facts covers the importance of vitamin B12 for brain health and even the lowering of Alzheimer's Disease risk and progression.
As you will learn in the video, another vitamin in the B-group known as "folate" is essential for the proper metabolism of vitamin B12, so you must be getting the full range of B-vitamins in your diet. The good news is that other than vitamin B12, all the other B vitamins are available from plants, especially leafy-greens.
Anyhow check out the full details from Dr. Greger's video below.
Oh, and by the way, you will find a link to Dr. Greger's latest blog posting in the Blog Roll in the right sidebar if you are visiting from your computer, or under the "hamburger menu" if visiting on a mobile device.
There are two reasons for this.
First, vitamin B12 is an "essential" vitamin, which means it is something we must have otherwise we will develop a deficiency disease, but it is a vitamin that is not made by our bodies so must be consumed from food or supplements. Food is always better than supplements, but because of the nature of vitamin B12 we basically have no option other than to take a vitamin B12 supplement.
Which leads to the second reason why we need to supplement vitamin B12.
Vitamin B12 is actually created by bacteria in soil and is not found in plants. In the past, we were able to get the small doses of vitamin B12 that we need from the residual soil left on plants that we ate. However today we don't forage for food, and most of us don't grow our own vegetables, but rather we head off to the supermarket or grocery store and buy bags of triple-washed vegetables, with no no traces of soil on them; so even this traditional source of vitamin B12 is "down the drain".
This video below from Nutrition Facts covers the importance of vitamin B12 for brain health and even the lowering of Alzheimer's Disease risk and progression.
As you will learn in the video, another vitamin in the B-group known as "folate" is essential for the proper metabolism of vitamin B12, so you must be getting the full range of B-vitamins in your diet. The good news is that other than vitamin B12, all the other B vitamins are available from plants, especially leafy-greens.
Anyhow check out the full details from Dr. Greger's video below.
Oh, and by the way, you will find a link to Dr. Greger's latest blog posting in the Blog Roll in the right sidebar if you are visiting from your computer, or under the "hamburger menu" if visiting on a mobile device.
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