Vegan Nutrition with Dina Aronson, M.S. R.D.

Dina Aronson, MS, RD is a vegan dietitian whose specialties include chronic disease prevention, vegetarian/vegan nutrition, and lifestyle management. She is the founder and director of VeganRD.com, a nutrition consulting company. Active in many vegetarian nutrition organizations, Dina was the recipient of the American Dietetic Association's Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year Award in 2002.

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Do algae, spirulina, and fungi like mushrooms provide B12? - Mike

While algae and other sea vegetables do contain vitamin B12, they contain a mix of both true B12 and B12 analogs. These analogs are not active forms, and can displace B12 in the body, which is bad news because it can lead to a shortage of true B12. When seaweeds are dried, some of the true B12 changes into analogs. At present, experts advise that you do not rely on sea vegetables or algae as a source of B12. Mushrooms are not a reliable source of B12. The only reliable sources for vegans are fortified foods such as Red Star Nutritional Yeast (vegetarian support formula), fortified non-dairy milks, cereals, nutrition bars, meat analogs (check labels), and supplements. To get sufficient vitamin B12 from fortified foods, aim for 3 mcg of B12 in two or more servings of foods. To get sufficient B12 from supplements you will need 10 mcg a day or 2000 mcg a week.

Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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