Friday Favorites: The Healthiest Food Sources of Vitamin B12
What are the best green-light (whole food plant-based) sources of vitamin B12?
The reason you have to take most B12-fortified foods three times a day is because it takes your B12 receptors at least about 4 hours to unload their cargo and be ready for the next tiny dose. At huge doses, like in the supplements and Leafside you actually end up largely bypassing the receptor system so you can do once a day (and for big enough supplemental doses once a week), but for the tiny amounts found in most fortified foods, like the nutritional yeast, and breakfast cereals, and plant-based meats and milks you have to get that 190% in three separate servings throughout the day.
I mentioned a few nutritional yeast brands in the video. Here are a few more with their serving sizes for B12 content:
• Lotus (Australia & New Zealand): 1 tsp 3x/day
• Marigold Engevita (UK): 2 tsp 3x/day
• Anthony’s Premium (Canada): 1 tsp 3x/day
• Hoosier Hill Farm (Canada): 1 tsp 3x/day
This is the third in a five-part video series on B12. Check out:
• The Symptoms of Vitamin B21 Deficiency ( )
• The Optimal Vitamin B12 Dosage for Adults ( )
• The Optimal Vitamin B12 Dosage for Kids, Pregnancy, and Seniors ( )
• The Best Type of Vitamin B12: Cyanocobalamin or Methylcobalamin? ( )
You can find all of these videos in a digital download here ( ), along with Do Vitamin B12 Supplements Cause Acne? ( ) and Do Vitamin B12 Supplements Cause Bone Fractures and Lung Cancer? ( ). And my recommendations are on my Optimum Nutrition ( ) page.
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-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
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Cyanocobalamine Hydroxocobalamine Adrenosolcobalamine Methylcobalamine
“the 4 types of B12, their absorbsion, and storage outside and inside your body, dont care your feeling about b12 tho” i like saying it that way to carnist lol
droping the 4 b12 type to carnit then “im not serious about nutritions im vellly defichienzy”
alot of carnist dont even know what b12 they get (often cyanocobalamine from the suplement they give to cattle : the cheapest possible)
These brands are no available in the UK, so I’ll stick to my vegan supplement each morning.
I am sure there is SOME brand of nutritional yeast even in a third world country like UK? 😉
Marmite
Engevita does a version with vitamin D and all their versions have vitamin B12
Brimble and brambles
Thank you for listing and comparing different brands. I have tried several of these. Also, I never knew what “unfortified” meant as I always assumed all nooch contained Vit B12. Thank you.
same!! im shook!
What about buying 100mcg tablets and take 1/4th of the tablet once a day? It’s going to be 25mcg per day, should cover it and just 10 times the RDA. Thank you for the video!
I only buy unfortified nutritional yeast because I don’t want the folic acid.
Same here! Also because I sprinkle it on my kitties food if they need encouragement to eat😻
Very useful information. Thank you.
B12 is also said to be in “dirt”. Meaning to me, if I eat from my own garden without washing first, I also get B12. Weeds are often undervalued. I like f.e. dandilion leaves, stinging nettle leaves, goutweed….
B12 is present in trace amounts, unless you’re ingesting everything in sight. Neglecting to wash your vegetables is unwise and needlessly risky. Opt for a supplement or fortified foods; there’s no need to overcomplicate things and pave a swift path to ex-veganism.
It’s a good way to get pinworms, too.
Thanks Dr gregor. I have shifted to vegan diet but not consuming any b12 supplement yet. Now will start. ❤
Very useful. I think, since B12 is water soluble, I’ll resume taking a sublingual supplement as insurance, because I’m not diligent about checking fortifications of foods I buy and don’t use nutritional yeast daily, as required by Vegan Law, LOL. Thanks for posting!
Good information Dr. Greger
I just found out a few days ago my nooch doesn’t contain any b12. Bummer. Thankfully I also take unsweetened fortified soy milk and the occasional b12 supplement. I guess i’ll make sure to take my supplement for now. Thank you.
My dad is 81 and have never been a big meat eater, and even quit dairy a couple years ago, so I’ve been little concerned lately since I heard that elderly need even more B12. So was Happy when his doctor after a blood test said he needed a concentrated b12 supplement. Good to know for the day I (hopefully) get to that ange myself. 🙂
Walmart’s own “Great Value” store brand of nutritional yeast claims to have 2.2 mcg of B12 per tablespoon. Considering the ubiquity of Walmart stores, this might be the most commonly available nooch of all. I love the stuff on my salad, so I get way more than enough this way.
I would add that a B12 supplement or B12-fortified foods are needed by anyone on a vegan diet OR anyone 50 years of age or older. The body’s ability to absorb B12 declines with age, so older people need a supplement regardless of their diet.
There’s a theory which states it could be because the chronic inflammatory response caused from Neu5gc is attacking our cells and depleting our supply of many essential nutrients (For the average omnivorous dietary pattern). It’s around the age of 50-60 that this manifests into nutrient deficiencies because the body cannot buffer the loss as effectively.
Thank you, I use braggs on my 5 grain cereal. I didn’t know I needed a supliment too since I am 66. Thanks for all the great info.
Honest question, because I never understood the hesitancy to take a B12 supplement: whats the difference between taking a supplement yourself and eating a food where the manufacturer has presumably added some B12 powder? Just sounds like you don’t want to personally confront or handle the supplement yourself. I personally take 2000 mcg of B12 once per week, and regularly eat nutritional yeast and B12-fortified soymilk
Can’t speak for all people, but heres a few reasons we’ve heard from clients – 1) pill fatigue. If you are already taking several pills (medications or supplements) daily, then adding something else in the routine just feels unmanageable 2) supplementing with a singular high dose supplement could have side effects on absorption of other minerals. Many vitamins/minerals compete for absorption.
We generally support people getting their nutrition from foods, however many people would benefit from supplementing their diet as well!
Glad you have found a path that works for you!
I have the Frontier Brand and it does not show it has fortified ingredients added yet it has multiple B vitamins in the nutritional panel. Are those naturally occurring? Confused a bit on that. I haven’t developed a fondness for the taste when I sprinkle it on pasta etc.
Love the side by side comparisons of the nutritional yeast! We could see eating a teaspoon or tablespoon of nutritional yeast a few times daily, however not sure how you would use 1/4 cup functionally… Its so salty!
Umami*
Is that all spirulina that blocks b12 uptake, or just certain ones? 😮
It seems that all are high in B12-analogues. Chlorella is a better option in this regard.
How about fermented rice? Why no one talks about it? It will be natural rather than taking supplements. We can make it ourselves by soaking cooked rice in water overnight.