Message #18009

[mccoy]

Conclusions:

#1- A diet without eggs and dairy products is seriously dangeorus because it might cause B 12 deficiency.
#2- My personal opinion is that, unless there is a good reason for it (allergy to dairy products and eggs, celibacy, other...) it is far better to take B12 from natural sources (milk, cheese, yougurt, soft boiled eggs) rather than from artificial supplements, which boost the pharmaceutical industry income and the power of the economic olygarchs and cannot ever be like the natural sources.
#3-In some historical contexts populations have lived without sources of B12. Sometimes they might have taken it from bacteria, like those contained in faeces. Sometimes researchers suspect they may have developed bacterial colonies with internal production of B12 at the initial stages of the intestine.
#4-It is probably very dangerous to experiment whether it is possible for us to go along without B12 sources, unless we are willing to have blood or urine analysis monthly to spot deficiencies in B12
#5-The body stocks B12 in the liver, so  actual deficiencies happen only months, sometimes years, after B12 is not introduced into the body. This means that we can go safely for 2-3 months on a very strict vegan diet, without develop deficiencies (providing we had some stock of B12 in the liver).
#6- Even in vegetarians who eat dairy products and eggs, B12 intake may be low if hunger is low, small amounts of food are eaten and there is no conscious effort to select foods rich in B12.