Re:Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plas...
by KozmoNau7 on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:14PM
(#19435266)
Fermented foods such as kimchi or sauerkraut can provide B12, but you have to get the old-fashioned variety, not the "pour some vinegar over boiled cabbage" version.
Re:Stomach of Dead Whale Contained 'Nothing but Nonstop Plas...
by QuantumAphid on Tuesday March 19, 2019 @04:56PM
(#19435762)
Most store-bought or restaurant kimchi has fish-sauce and/or bits of shrimp.
I can't find much support for B12 in these foods in online databases.
If these must be home-made or of similar quality, supplementation of B12 is still going to be important.
Supplements have challenges too (and in fact many studies show supplements to be of little value). In order to attain sufficient B12 via supplements, a person needs to consume many times the RDA value. For example, only 10 mcg of a 500 mcg oral supplement is absorbed by healthy people.
So while technically you may need minimal amounts of B12, it remains an essential vitamin. Getting it in a format which is both absorbable and bioavailable is not trivial and serves as a clue that human physiology evolved in an ecosystem which, to varying degrees, involved eating animals.
Note: For now I'll set aside probable/common deficiencies among vegans/vegetarians in B6, heme iron, the vitamins A, D3, K2, micronutrients and fatty acids DHA, CLA, Carnatine, Carnosine, Taurine, Creatine and others. In fairness, a western/standard american diet can also score poorly in many nutrients.