Vegetarians often have a hard time finding the best sources ofvitamin B12 to eat. After all, this essential nutrient is mostly found in animal products like meat. As a result, they need to seek out additional sources of B12 and, if necessary, even take a vegetarian-friendly supplement.
Going without vitamin B12 can have some negative health consequences. Instead of testing the limits of your health, o incorporate some of these amazing vegetarian foods into your diet. All of them are packed full of vitamin B12, which will help you stay healthy if you are on a vegetarian or vegan diet.
What B Vitamins Does Your Body Need?
In all, seven B vitamins are essential. Your body needs a decent amount of them daily to function properly. These B vitamins are:
- B1, also known as thiamine
- B2, called riboflavin
- B3 or niacin
- B5, sometimes called pantothenic acid
- vitamin B6, which has no other common name
- B7 or biotin
- B12
- Folic acid (or folate)
What Is Vitamin B12?
So, why is vitamin B12 so important? It plays a role in the functioning of your blood cells, your nervous system, and the health of your DNA. Without enough B12 in your system, you could end up with anemia, a lack of red blood cells.
Common symptoms of a lack of B12 include a loss of appetite, fatigue, digestive issues, blurry vision, a sore tongue, and problems walking.
Anemia and a vitamin B12 deficiency are often treated with either vitamin B12 supplements or blood transfusions, but it's still something that you don't want to have to deal with. Instead, it's best to simply incorporate some vitamin B12 into your diet.
How Much B12 Do You Need?
The amount ofvitamin B12 you need to consume every day varies by age. The amount, known as the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA for short), or the daily value (DV), breaks down to the following:
- Children between the ages of one and three need 0.9 micrograms of B12 every day
- Kids between the ages of four and eight need to eat 1.2 micrograms of B12 each day
- Preteens between the ages of nine and twelve need to have 1.8 micrograms of B12 each day
- Teenagers over the age of thirteen, as well as adults, need to eat 2.4 micrograms of B12 every day
Sources of Vitamin B12
The main source of vitamin B12 for humans is meat, such as beef, chicken, turkey, or pork. People who frequently eat meat generally have enough B12 in their systems.
However, vegetarians, who don't eat meat but may choose to eat other animal products, have to be more careful and take the time to add some of these foods to their diets.
Eggs
Eggs are somewhat of a gray area for vegetarians. Since they could, technically, be baby chickens (although most eggs are unfertilized), it's easy to see why some vegetarians have an issue with eating them. However, since most eggs aren't fertilized, many non-meat-eaters make an exception and add eggs to their daily menus.
It's a good thing they do because one single large egg contains 25% of your daily value of vitamin B12. That's not even counting all of the other nutrients within it.
Cheese and Other Dairy Products
There are several dairy products, like yogurt and cheese, which contain a large amount of your daily value of vitamin B12. For example, a single ounce serving of Swiss cheese contains 38% of your daily value, while a cup of low-fat yogurt comes in at 46%. Not to mention, these foods are tasty as well.
Milk
Milk has a large amount ofvitamin B12 in it. A one-cup serving of low-fat milk has 50% of your daily value of B12. If you drink two cups of milk, you're good for the day.
If you prefer plant-based milk like almond milk or soy milk, reach for versions that are fortified with B12. It will say so on the label, and you can choose your servings accordingly. There's nothing wrong with choosing fortified products if you have no other options.
Foods Fortified With B12
Speaking of fortified foods, there are plenty to choose from, all of which have extra vitamin B12 added to them.
Some, like breakfast cereal, are easy to work into your daily menu, as they make a greatbreakfast or afternoon snack. Most fortified cereals contain 25% of your daily B12 intake, but it's important to check the nutrition panel on the box, just to be sure.
Dried Seaweed
Also known as nori, you'll find this particular type of dried seaweed wrapped around pieces of sushi. You can also find it on its own as a snack.
Vegetarian sushi is not only tasty, but it's also very good for you. Choose varieties that feature nori and sushi rice, plus cucumbers, carrots, or avocado if you want to enjoy an array of flavors while getting plenty of vitamin B12 into your diet.
All you need to meet your daily value of B12 is a mere four grams of nori.
Nutritional Yeast
It sounds like a weird addition to your diet, but nutritional yeast, particularly the kind that's fortified with B12, is a great way to ensure that you're getting enough of this vitamin. All it takes is one single tablespoon of nutritional yeast, and you have your total daily value of B12 out of the way.
You can add it to your smoothies, sprinkle it on popcorn, or add it to sauces, among many other options.
Shiitake Mushrooms
If you love mushrooms, you're in luck. Shiitake mushrooms contain vitamin B12 and many other nutrients, as they're a great source of protein as well.
Although the overall level of B12 in mushrooms tends to be kind of low (you'd need to eat 50 grams of shitake mushrooms to meet your daily value), for those who enjoy cooking with mushrooms and adding them to meals, this is a great option.
Tempeh
Some fermented foods, such as tempeh, which is made of fermented soybeans, contain vitamin B12.
Although tempeh isn't the best source, as the fermenting process can destroy some of the nutrients in the soybeans, it depends on the manufacturer. Make sure to read the nutrition label to see if your preferred version of tempeh contains enough B12 to meet your needs.
Final Thoughts
Vitamin B12 is an essential vitamin that the human body needs to function properly. Not getting enough B12 can lead to anemia and a number of other symptoms, such as nerve damage and even problems with your DNA.
Vegetarians need to be careful about consuming enough vitamin B12, adding eggs, cheese, milk, fortified cereals, nutritional yeast, and more to their meals. Since the largest source of vitamin B12 is meat, which vegetarians don't eat, it's important to keep an eye on your B12 levels and even take a daily multivitamin orsupplement if needed.
Sources:
Vegetarian and Vegan Sources of B12 | Medical News Today
Nosh on These 8 Vegetarian Sources of Vitamin B12 | Greatist