Bad news for vegans

B12 is an essential vitamin which comes from animal sources like Eggs, Fish, Meat & Dairy. B12 is found in a very limited number of plant foods and supplement versions of this type may cause more harm than good.

We need B12 to:

• Repair damaged DNA (think about how damaged DNA can lead to cancer)
• Make healthy red blood cells called Haemoglobin
• Create new healthy DNA when cells divide to make copies of themselves
• Create Porphyrins (which bind to iron and help transport oxygen around the body in your Haemoglobin)
• Make Succinyl Coenzyme-A which is a substance that both helps you to make Haemoglobin and helps you to make energy in your cell batteries.

Mitochondria

You will hear this word thrown around a lot in the metabolic cancer space and that’s because there is a growing amount of evidence to show that cancer is a mitochondrial metabolic disease.

Our mitochondria are like small batteries or powerhouses in our cells. In fact all of our cells except red blood cells contain mitochondria and some cells have many mitochondria.

These little powerhouses create energy for our body (amongst many other things) in the form of units called ATP - Adenosine Triphosphate. We need to produce that fuel from something though, it can’t appear from thin air, so our mitochondria takes in ‘ingredients’ to make ATP.

One of those ingredients is Succinyl Co-A and without Vitamin B12 (adenosyl B12 to be precise) we aren’t able to make the ATP.

No ATP = No energy

ATP is itself used to make other things happen in the body, a bit like a co-factor. It is involved in detoxification using glutathione, methylation by helping to make SAM-e (S-adenosyl Methionine) and the production of our clean up and repair molecule friends called Sirtuins from NAD+ which need ATP to function properly.

I realise these words are getting a little biochemistry heavy so let me show you how that might look with a handy diagram I made earlier.

B12, ideally from good quality animal protein which has all the co-factors needed to support the many biochemical processes it supports, is the fundamental ingredient.

It helps make Succinyl Co-A which allows red blood cells to carry porphyrins/iron/oxygen to muscles which improves energy.

Succinyl Co-A also goes into the mitochondria into something called The Citric Acid cycle (TCA) or sometimes called The Krebs Cycle, and helps us to make those units of energy called ATP.

This is all B12 dependant.

Kinds of B12

B12 is generally called Cobalamin (Cobalt based)

Up first we have Cyanocobalamin. This is a synthetic, lab created version of B12. It doesn’t occur in nature and it’s the stuff that you get in cheaper vitamins (and some expensive ones too - always check the ingredients, it’s not enough that the label says ‘contains B12’). This kind is the stuff that is in fortified cereals and fake-healthy, junk milks for kids.

Next up is Methylcobalamin. This methylated kind of B12 is important because it’s ‘cobalamin’ with a Methyl group attached (read my last article on Folate B9 for more info here). We are able to ‘methylate’ cyanocobalamin so that it becomes ‘Methylcobalamin’ in the body but not always. More on that later too. Taking the Methylcobalamin in supplemental form is best for most people.

Adenosylcobalamin is the kind of B12 that is used in the making of Succinyl Co-A, which was demonstrated in the above image. We know what it does now! This and Methylcobalamin are the only two kinds of B12 that are immediately available to the body.

Hyroxycobalamin is a naturally occuring B12 and like Cyanocobalamin, the body needs to convert it before it can be used. It’s not synthetic though and so taking this version is fine for the body. In fact it’s an excellent scavenger for cyanide and nitric oxide free radicals which makes it great for detoxification. It is also a really stable version of B12 so it stays in the body for a longer time, which can be very beneficial for people who have problems absorbing B12 or who have megaloblastic/pernicious anaemia.

Bad news for vegans & how you can detect anaemia flying under the radar

Some people are taking ‘B12 rich’ (vegan) supplements which actually BLOCK the uptake of natural B12. Plant based B12 supplements aren’t all they are cracked up to be!

Others are stuck in ‘The Folate Trap’ and have unexplained chronic fatigue despite B12 supplementation.

What specific supplements to avoid and how to know if your fatigue is due to the folate trap

The Folate Trap

Being familiar with terms like Methylcobalamin, Methyl Groups and Methylfolate (see earlier post on folate) is really helpful to understand the folate trap.

We use Methylcobalamin (B12 with a methyl group) in our bodies in something called The Methionine Cycle.

In the Methionine cycle our primary goal is to convert an amino acid called Homocysteine, into something called Methionine (and then methionine into SAMe). We make homocysteine naturally from animal protein. If we don’t convert homocysteine to methionine then homocysteine levels will rise and we will have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Methylcobalamin B12 converts homocysteine into methionine by giving up the methyl part of itself (a methyl group) to homocysteine. So methionine is actually homocysteine but just with a methyl group stuck to it. Simple?

Once that has happened though, we have been left with just plain old ‘Cobalamin’ because the Methyl part just got donated to someone else. We can’t use Cobalamin, it’s inactive so it just hangs around with nothing to do.

We actually need methylfolate to leap in here and give another methyl group to cobalamin so that it can then become methylcobalamin again and repeat this whole cycle.

But sometimes there is no methylfolate. That individual might be deficient in folate, unable to process the folate they do have due to genetic SNPs (polymorphisms) or they might be taking Folic Acid (not methylfolate). In that case B12 levels could rise in the blood, but it would be the unavailable kind.

Methylfolate is not available. So there is no way to turn Cobalamin into Methyl-cobalamin. This means that there is no methyl cobalamin available to give a methyl group to convert Homocysteine into Methionine.

The way that we can tell if this is happening in the body is by checking the blood levels of Homocysteine, folate and B12.

If Folate is low or normal, but Homocysteine and B12 are rising/high. We know that this person may be experiencing the folate trap and may need to supplement more folate (Methylfolate, Never Folic Acid).

The amount to supplement depends on the person. Speak with your practitioner about the dosage and frequency.

Bad News for Vegans

Some supplements with Spirulina, Nori and other plant foods may claim to contain B12. These are usually marketed as ‘plant sources’ of B12 at the vegan and vegetarian populations.

The kind of B12 in Spirulina and certain seaweeds is actually an analogue to B12. This means that it is the same shape, it looks like B12 and can sit in the same receptors for B12, it binds to the transporters and occupies the spaces where real B12 should sit.

It’s a bit like the B12 bus, where all the B12 molecules are supposed to get a seat each, but the seats are occupied by imposter B12s.

The analogues stole the tickets and left the real B12s stranded at the bus stop!

Vegan diets just aren’t right for our biology

If you do choose to avoid animal protein, you’d better make sure that you get a good quality methylcobalamin supplement and avoid plant based B12 supplements. Do pay very close and regular attention to your B12, Homocysteine, Folate, Iron, Choline, Protein and many more in your blood markers to make sure that you are getting what your body needs and not falling prey to the many problems that I see arise as a result of these diets long term.

Or… just eat high quality meat, fish and eggs and a few veggies each day with plenty of healthy fats (not seed oils) and you can’t go far wrong.

Thanks for reading The Metabolic Nutritionist ! This post is public so feel free to share it.

This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute the provision of medical advice or professional services.

Amanda King ND is a UK trained Naturopathic Practitioner, in the UK, the legend ND means ‘Advanced Naturopathic Diploma’ not Naturopathic Doctor, Amanda is also not a medical Doctor.

This information does not replace medical care or recommendations from a physician familiar with you, your health and laboratory data, or who is actively providing you with medical treatment.

Read the full article at the original website.

References:

• The Metabolic Nutritionist substack