If you have heard Victoria talk recently she would have shared her theories on Vitamin B12 in much more detail. I wanted to post this response from Victoria because I think it’s interesting and we get asked about B12 regularly. Some people may find Victoria’s answer controversial, however please keep in mind that this is very brief, she has not drawn any official scientific conclusions and this response is an
observation from her own experience.
(Photo taken at a recent ‘Conscious Events’ talk in the UK)
QUESTION: Where do vegans get their Vitamin B12?
VICTORIA: Vitamin B12 is the only nutrient that we cannot get from
plants. There is a lot of research currently going on regarding B12. The
USDA recommends getting this vitamin from animal products. Many vegans
and raw fooder’s take vitamin B12 supplements. Dr Vivian V. Vetrano and
other doctors of Natural Hygiene state that vitamin B12 is made by
bacteria in the intestinal tract. As you can see, there is a lot of
confusion and conflicting information about this rather important issue.
At the same time, vitamin B12 deficiency may be dangerous for human
health. I have my own theory about vitamin B12, based on my experience
of eating raw food for over 15 years, and observing other people on
vegan and vegetarian diets.
I believe that nature provided two main sources of vitamin B12. One
source is a healthy digestive tract with normal flora. The second is
from animal food, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to eat
meat, fish, or dairy. I am planning to conduct more research and
possibly publish a book about this subject. I believe that the organic
fruit when ripened on the vine or tree provides vitamin B12. I have no
doubts that such fruit contains a significant amount of insect eggs
which are known to be a rich source of B12. When you bring fruit from
the farmer’s market home in the summer, maybe you have noticed fruit
flies that quickly hatch and multiply, becoming a nuisance in your
kitchen. Where do they come from? Not from your furniture! They come
from the tree ripened fruit. Unfortunately, most farmers pick their
fruit several months before ripening. Other farmers apply huge
quantities of pesticides which greatly reduces the chances of the
insects laying eggs on the fruit. The insect eggs are so tiny that you
need to have a very strong microscope to see them. So, I think you can
still consider yourself vegan, or better use the term “conscious vegan.”
Together with Dr. Miven Donato, we are planning to conduct a pilot study
with a group of volunteers who have B12 deficiencies. By performing a
MMA (Methylmalonic acid) test, which is considered to be the most
accurate test for B12, we will determine if people could get B12 from
tree ripened organic fruit. For now, you may take supplements if you
need to, and I hope that you will especially enjoy the tree ripened fruit.
Dear Victoria, My husband and I have been using the green smoothies for over a year and a half now. I am no longer considered pre-diabetic and my blood pressure has gone down to a healthy range. I had a series of ischemic strokes in 2006, no ER emergencies since. We do green smoothies every day. God Bless you for your good work. It has changed our lives. We believe that spirulina is a good source of B 12.
Honey Bee products, pollen, propollis, royal jelly, lewis labs brewers yeast rich in B and B 12. Seaweed.
This article I linked too on my previous post has all the truth about it. The body makes it all throughout. But if we take inn chemical drugs fed to animals or in our foods we may have destroyed the ability to absorb the B 12.
More from this B 12 article link is in my last post:
continued: Indeed, Dr Vetrano argues that the real problem in so-called B12 deficiency is a failure of digestion and absorption of foods, rather than a deficiency of the vitamin itself. She further argues that vitamin B12 coenzymes are found in nuts and seeds as well as in many common greens, fruits, and many vegetables. If we ate 100 grams of green beans, beets, carrots, and peas we would have half of our so-called daily minimum requirement of Vitamin B12 coenzymes providing our digestion and absorption are normal. From Rodale’s The Complete Book of Vitamins, page 236 we find the following clarification: “As you know, the B complex of vitamins is called a ‘complex’ because, instead of being one vitamin, it has turned out to be a large number of related vitamins, which appear generally in the same foods.” (11)
The author does not believe that a vitamin B12 deficiency is more widespread in vegans or vegetarians – this is probably just another marketing lie! In fact, many so-called studies ’showing vegans deficient’ have to be carefully studied themselves – many of them do not prove vegans to be deficient at all! In fact, contrary to meat and dairy industry propaganda, meat-eaters are known to be more likely to have a vitamin B12 deficiency – this has been known since 1959!!(1)
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/b12issue.html
How make animals B12? When they are capable to do so, Human beings should have the same tools. Also the micro oranisme have to transfer something to B12. Maby we should add more grass anf wild plants to our food. You can make juices of them.
Please read a post on this blog called ‘Washing fruits, vegetables and greens’ in the ‘Greens’ category.
Victoria says “I believe that little bits of soil contain microorganisms and that these contribute to our B12 levels….. My answer is that I’m not afraid of parasites as much as I am afraid of chemicals”.
I have also heard you can get B12 from soil and you shouldn’t wash all the soil off your veggies. Is this true?