Firstly, just wanted to caution that vegans should be very careful about claims of unfortified plant-based foods containing adequate B12. Although some seaweed/algae/mushroom types contain molecules that are structurally similar to B12, they may not have the same nutritional benefits. e.g. see https://veganhealth.org/vitamin-b12/vitamin-b12-plant-foods/. Some people engage in motivated reasoning around this topic, so I think it is good to be cautious when evaluating such claims.
I strongly support B12 testing for vegans. This is only my anecdotal experience, but I had grown up eating little meat and dairy for various reasons, and at one point decided to cut it out entirely as I felt that it would be more moral. It did not occur to me at all that veganism could have negative side-effects, given how widely it is publicized, so I didn’t bother looking into it. I’m certain that there are many others who have done the same.
Later, much to my chagrin, I was diagnosed with severe Vitamin B12 deficiency, which has robbed me of 2+ of my most productive years due to loss of physical strength, nerve pain, extreme fatigue, and possibly loss of cognitive ability.
For a description of what the condition can do to even the greatest of minds, see Eugene Wigner’s description of the great mathematician David Hilbert’s condition after contracting pernicious anemia (the condition was named before scientists realized the anemia + symptoms were caused by lack of B12) in his autobiography:
I was quickly and deeply disappointed. I found Hilbert painfully withdrawn. He had contracted pernicious anemia in 1925 and was no longer an active thinker. The worst symptoms of pernicious anemia are not immediately obvious, and Hilbert’s case had not yet been diagnosed. But we knew already that something was quite wrong. Hilbert was only living halfway. His enormous fatigue was plain. And the correct diagnosis was not encouraging when it came. Pernicious anemia was then not considered curable.
So Hilbert suddenly seemed quite old. He was only about 65, which seems rather young to me now. But life no longer much interested him. I knew very well that old age comes eventually to everyone who survives his stay on this earth. For some people, it is a time of ripe reflection, and I had often envied old men their position. But Hilbert had aged with awful speed, and the prematurity of his decline took the glow from it. His breadth of interest was nearly gone and with it the engaging manner that had earned him so many disciples.
Hilbert eventually got medical treatment for his anemia and managed to live until 1943. But he was hardly a scientist after 1925, and certainly not a Hilbert. I once explained some new theorem to him. As soon as he saw that its use was limited, he said, “Ah, then one doesn’t really have to learn this one.” It was painfully clear that he did not want to learn it.
I gauged Hilbert’s plight at our very first meeting. After that, I saw him only about five times more the rest of the year. I did what little I could for him, but I could not make him younger or remedy his anemia. I had come to Göttingen to be Hilbert’s assistant, but he wanted no assistance. We can all get old by ourselves.
thank you. I had only glanced at non-animal B12 and was trying to be fair to vegans, if my sources were bad that’s extremely useful to know. And if VeganHealth.org is being rigorous about this that increases my respect for them.
Firstly, just wanted to caution that vegans should be very careful about claims of unfortified plant-based foods containing adequate B12. Although some seaweed/algae/mushroom types contain molecules that are structurally similar to B12, they may not have the same nutritional benefits. e.g. see https://veganhealth.org/vitamin-b12/vitamin-b12-plant-foods/. Some people engage in motivated reasoning around this topic, so I think it is good to be cautious when evaluating such claims.
I strongly support B12 testing for vegans. This is only my anecdotal experience, but I had grown up eating little meat and dairy for various reasons, and at one point decided to cut it out entirely as I felt that it would be more moral. It did not occur to me at all that veganism could have negative side-effects, given how widely it is publicized, so I didn’t bother looking into it. I’m certain that there are many others who have done the same.
Later, much to my chagrin, I was diagnosed with severe Vitamin B12 deficiency, which has robbed me of 2+ of my most productive years due to loss of physical strength, nerve pain, extreme fatigue, and possibly loss of cognitive ability.
For a description of what the condition can do to even the greatest of minds, see Eugene Wigner’s description of the great mathematician David Hilbert’s condition after contracting pernicious anemia (the condition was named before scientists realized the anemia + symptoms were caused by lack of B12) in his autobiography:
thank you. I had only glanced at non-animal B12 and was trying to be fair to vegans, if my sources were bad that’s extremely useful to know. And if VeganHealth.org is being rigorous about this that increases my respect for them.