Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Vegan Diets: Myth or Reality?

This article explores the myth of vitamin B12 deficiency in vegan diets and provides scientific evidence to support the fact that vegans are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. The author aims to inform people about the truth of vitamin deficiency in vegan diets and promote a healthy sustainable lifestyle.

Running head: Nutrition
Nutrition
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Q1. The topic- This article claims that the fact that the vegans might suffer from Vitamin B12
deficiency syndrome is a myth. The main rationale for this concept is that many vegetarians
are avoiding becoming vegan due to the myth that vegan suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency
in their diet due to their avoidance of any kind animal product. Individuals with vitamin B12
deficiency might suffer from weight loss, fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, upset stomach,
diarrhoea, numbness and memory loss. Hence the main aim is to find literary evidences from
credible sources to support the claim.
Q.2. A newsletter by Alina Petre, MS, RD (CA), have clearly stated that individuals with
vegan diet should take additional supplements of Vitamin B 12 as they have a high risk of
deficiency. The article has suggested that the only scientific way for the vegans to take
optimum levels of vitamin B13 is by consuming vitamin B12 fortified foods, such as plant
milk, breakfast cereals and nutritional products (Health line., 2018).
This article states that dietary supplements for the vegans depends upon age, gender
and stages of life. Foods such as soy milk, spirulina have good sources of vitamin B12. A
study by the University of Western Sydney have found that mushrooms contain active
components of Vitamin B12 (Bloom nutritionist., 2016).
Q3. The author of this article is Cindy Jones-Shoeman, who is the author of the Last sunset
and who is also a featured writer for the Academic writing at suite 101. Some of the works of
this author also involved environmental issues, tips about sustainable life style, tips for a
vegan life style and several more.
Q4. The main aim of this article is to inform the people about the myth of vitamin deficiency
suffered by the vegan people that are compelling the vegetarians not to become vegan. The
aim of this site is to direct the viewers or the readers to a healthy life style. No such hidden

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agenda can be found as such in this article except the fact that there is nothing wrong in
becoming a vegan as long as proportionate nutrients, vitamins and minerals are obtained from
plant sources.
Q 5. The objective of the article is simple, that is to get rid of the ignorance and myth about
food habits and maintain a healthy sustainable life.
Q6. No such scientific terms or medical jargons have been used in this study except the
names of some diseases. The writing is comprehensive and simple such that it is
understandable to normal individuals without any knowledge of medical pathophysiology.
Some of the terms like coenzyme A or Crohn’s disease might not be understandable to
common people.
Q7. According to Pawlak et al. (2013), vegetarians are at a risk of vitamin (B12) deficiency,
as a large portion of the vitamins comes from the milk solids or animal products. This due to
the fact that the vitamin B12 is only synthesised by the microorganisms not found in plant
sources. This paper is based on a secondary research performed by search through the
electronic databases. As per the findings vegans have been found to be developing Vitamin
B12 deficiency regardless of the demographic characteristics, age and residency. Higher rates
were found among the infants, pregnant women and the elderly people who follow a vegan
diet from the early stage of life.
Another review paper by Pawlak (2015), also has indicated towards the fact that
vegan diets are scarce in Vitamin B12 and deficiency in Vitamin B12 can increase the risk of
cardiovascular diseases in the vegans. According to this study, Vitamin B12 deficiency can
cause macrocystosis that is associated with fatal and non-fatal coronary heart diseases. As per
the longitudinal study conducted by Ho-Pham et al. (2012), it was found that the vegans have
higher risks of fragility factor. Additional vitamin supplements are required for meeting the

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nutritional requirements. This indicates towards the association of vitamin deficiency with
veganism.
Thus it can be seen that most of the scientific literatures support the fact of vitamin
B12 deficiency in vegan diets, which questions the truth of the original article.
Q. 8. On a scale of 1-5, I would grade this article with a 3, as a part of the article is truth, as
the article has clearly said that vitamin deficiency in Vegan diets in a myth, which is not true
in reality. The fact that several additional supplements are required to meet the vitamin B 12
requirement was not mentioned in the original article.

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References
Bloom nutritionist. (2016).Vitamin B12 for Vegans. Access date: 30.8.2018. Retrieved
from:http://www.bloomnutritionist.com/blog/2016/07/28/vitamin-b12
Health line. (2018) .7 Supplements You Need on a Vegan Diet. Access date: 30.8.2018.
Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-supplements-for-vegans
Ho-Pham, L.T., Vu, B.Q., Lai, T.Q., Nguyen, N.D. & Nguyen, T.V., (2012). Vegetarianism,
bone loss, fracture and vitamin D: a longitudinal study in Asian vegans and non-
vegans. European journal of clinical nutrition, 66(1), 75.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.131
Pawlak, R., (2015). Is vitamin B12 deficiency a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in
Vegetarians?. American journal of preventive medicine, 48(6), e11-e26.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.02.009
Pawlak, R., Parrott, S.J., Raj, S., Cullum-Dugan, D. & Lucus, D., (2013). How prevalent is
vitamin B12 deficiency among vegetarians?. Nutrition reviews, 71(2), 110-117.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nure.12001