Vitamin B12

[TonyV]

On the raw food regime how does everyone go for vitamin B12. Do you take suppliments or can you get adequate supply on the raw food diet.

Tony V

[Jay]

Hi Tony,

I do take a supplement, its from Country Life and they are vegetarian sub-lingual vitamin B-12, with a natural cherry flavor.
I got them here in Belgium trough my pharmacy.

The other supplements I take are chlorella, MSM and green kamut...

Bye!
Joke

[flutterfly]

I also take a supplement with a combo of B vitamins. I only take it every other day.

[Rawkinlocs]

I read in a book ("Dying to Get Well" - http://dyingtogetwell.com) that our bodies make B12 and that there is no food that has it. The animals that we used to eat (and feel that we got our B12 frolm) don't eat animals to get theirs and therefore, we shouldn't have to either...that their bodies produce it just as ours does. The thing she said in her book was that a HEALTHY body will produce it (it comes from bacteria ya know) and that if one is sick or not in the best of health, they may desire/need to take a supplement until they get the body healthy. She stressed that it's important to do what is necessary to get the body in it's best possible health (i.e. the (raw) diet) and then one wouldn't necessarily need to take any supplement as their body will begin making all the B12 it needs.

Nora Lenz of http://rawschool.com stated on her website that we really needn't concern ourselves with it...that other species do not concern themselves with whether or not they are getting B12 or protein, etc...but all they do is just eat the foods designed for them by nature...the foods that are most optimal for them and that nature provides all they need. This is what she says we as humans need to do...eat the foods that our bodies are designed to consume...the foods that nature intended for us and we'll be fine.

So, bottom line - if YOU feel you need a supplement because you don't necessarily trust the natural foods or if you aren't in the best health, then take a supplement. But all in all, it's probably not necessary if one is healthy and eating the proper diet :)

P.S. I forgot to add that you can also do nutritional yeast (which is basically bacteria grown on molasses) in your diet - while not RAW, it's living and is said to be an excellent source of B12!

[Alissa]

This article is long, but it is really a good read on b-12.
Gabriel Cousens use to say we do not need any supplementation of b12 but he has since changed his mind.

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/b12article.html

[CherimoyaMel]

I eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut and rejuvelac. They are rich in B vitamins including B12. They are wonderful probiotics, as well.

[Rawkinlocs]

Here is the link to another good (and lengthy) article on B12:

http://www.living-foods.com/articles/b12issue.html

[Rawism]

I actually still get a B12 shot from my doctor.

[corky]

thanks for the article Allissa! What do you take for supplementation then?

[Jay]

I read in the newspaper the other day, that supplementing vit. B's can cause pimples or zits, whatever you want to call them!! Especially B12 causes it, and that's what I've been experiencing!!
If I trace back untill the moment I started supplementing my B12, it's around the time I started to get a lot of zits!!
I had no idea those two were related, so I'm not gonna take my supplement each day now, and see what happens... I stoped taking it 2 days ago, I'll keep you posted on how it influences the skin of my face... Somehow I hope it's related, so those darn zits would go away, but on the other hand, I wish it wasn't related, so I could keep taking B12 for the moment... we'll see what happens...

Joke

[misslinda]

I heard an awesome radio program on internal body cleansing when the seasons change and the doctor reminded over and over gain that if we want to absorb the nutrients efficiently, we must cleanse our bodies at least 3-4 times a year so that our intestines can abosrb nutrients at the maximum level.

luv,
Linda