Our Friends, the Vitamins

There are thirteen vitamins that have been determined as necessary to human health. They’re divided into two classes: water-soluble vitamins, the excess of which is excreted through urine or through sweat; and fat-soluble vitamins, the excess of which is stored in our bodies. Vitamin C and eight B vitamins are water soluble, so if you take too much of these, your body just gets rid of what it doesn’t need. Vitamins B12, A, D, K, and E are fat- soluble; any excess of these are kept in our bodies for some time, and we can overdose on them if we take too much.

Fat-soluble vitamins are so called because they need dietary fat to be absorbed by the body. A diet exceedingly low in fat makes it difficult for the body to use these vitamins, although it’s only a small amount of fat— vitamin absorption is only an issue in the most extreme cases. They’re needed for a diverse array of bodily functions, from blood clotting to
eyesight to the immune system. Water-soluble vitamins already exist in the body’s enzyme system and are necessary to keep the body functioning smoothly. A handful of these vitamins are especially important to the vegetarian diet, and it’s crucial that you know why you need them.

Vitamin B12—The Everything Vitamin

One of the most controversial nutritional elements is vitamin B12, of which you need only the tiniest amount—just two micrograms per day. One tiny pinch would be enough for you to meet your body’s needs for your whole life. So how small an amount do you actually need? Look at it this way: one microgram is one thirty-millionth of an ounce.

B12 is created by microorganisms that exist in the air, water, and soil. Animals, including humans, have it in their bodies. We consume vitamin B12 by eating the flesh of animals that pass it along, or by consuming animal products like eggs, milk, cheese, and yogurt. Vitamin B12 is also produced in our own intestinal tracts, but scientists believe that produce it past the point where we can absorb it into our blood streams—so we can’t utilize the B1 we produce ourselves. We have to get it from somewhere else.

Plants only contain B12 through contact with them, passed on through the soil. So if you eat vegetables straight from the garden, you may pick up a little bit of B12 from soil present on the plant. But if you buy all your veggies from the grocery store, they’ll have been cleaned well enough to remove the tiniest speck of B12. So where the heck do we get B12 ?

Coming as it does from minuscule bacteria, there are a number of forms of vitamin B12. The one that we humans need and that our bodies can use, is called cyanocobalamin. Other types of B12—the types we can’t utilize—are called analogs. For years, nutritionists lectured that B12 was abundant in foods like nutritional yeast, tempeh, and sea vegetables. But it turns out that, while there’s lots of B12 in those foods, it’s mostly of the type we can’t use, despite the claims on the labels. Up to 94 percent of the vitamin B12 in those foods is in analog form and not cyanocobalamin, so these foods are essentially worthless as sources of B12.

There are some vegetarian food choices that contain a decent amount of vitamin B12. Breakfast cereals like Wheat Chex or Grape-Nuts, meat substitutes such as Morningstar products, milk substitutes, eggs, and most dairy products all provide a good amount of B12. If you don’t eat animal products on a regular basis, then you need to find an alternate source.

One foolproof way to add B12 to your diet is through fortified food products and vitamin supplements. Read labels carefully, and look for the word “cyanocobalamin”; you should be able to find plenty of breakfast cereals and meat substitutes fortified with the right kind of B12. If you decide to go with a vitamin supplement, choose one with the lowest dose available. Remember, you only need two micrograms a day, and most supplements contain much more than that. The reason to keep your daily dosage low is because your body actually adapts to the amount of B12 you get from supplements and your diet; it’s going to absorb just what it needs and discard the rest. So why take a big dose when you’ll only absorb two micrograms?

Also keep in mind that you really only need a B12 supplement if you’re eating a vegan or near-vegan diet. If you’re ovo-lacto, you’ll get all the B12 you need from the foods you eat.