B12 deficiency comes more from poor soil and drinking water than just a lack of eating meat.

B 12 comes from bacteria, not animals.

B 12 resides in mineral rich soil and water.

The more commercial agriculture grows, the more herbicides and pesticides are needed. Which results in damaged soil.

We used to “live closer to dirt” and get enough vitamin B-12 from the good mineral rich soil on our vegetables and from drinking “natural” water, which still had “dirt’’ in it. Though we also have the bacteria capable of producing vitamin B-12, living in our guts, the bacteria lives too far down our digestive tracts to be absorbed. We poop it out.

As far as meat eaters go, most B12 from meat comes from supplementation.

Yes, most of the vitamin B-12 manufactured for supplements, is given to livestock. The reason is because factory farmed animals, don’t get enough vitamin B-12 either. Most animals that are bread and manufactured by the meat industry, cannot graze. Most are locked and caged inside of warehouses; and therefore, do not ingest soil. Even if the captive animals are able to graze, farmers are concerned about the soil they ingest: it may not make it possible for B-12 to be synthesized.

B-12 producing microorganisms relies heavily on a trace element Cobalt. Cobalt is the central atom of vitamin B-12; hence where vitamin B-12 gets its scientific name, “cobalamin”. Research has shown that Cobalt levels in soil have declined heavily throughout the years. Modern agricultural practices has destroyed this essential trace element. As a result, B-12 producing microorganisms are very low when tested for in an agricultural type setting.

In fact, farmers have begun to observe that cows grazing on grass that is growing on cobalt deficient soil can not survive. Calves will survive the first few months by tapping into B-12 stores found in their liver, but eventually die after a few months. Simply put, they can not obtain enough of the microorganisms in the soil that produce B-12.

Contrary to popular belief, animals such as cows do not manufacture their own B-12; rather, they ingest microorganisms found in the soil that then produce the essential B-12 which they need in their stomach.

Medications can also help cause a B12 deficiency.

Cholestyramine (Cholybar®, Questran®) – used to lower high cholesterol levels in the blood.

Cimetidine (Tagamet®) – used to treat and prevent stomach ulcers.

Clofibrate (Atromid-S®) – impairs absorption of vitamin B12 –

Colchicine– (ColBenemid®) – used to prevent or treat attacks of gout (also called gouty arthritis)

Co-trimoxazole– It reduces bacteria that cause infections of the urinary tract, lungs (pneumonia), ears, and intestines.

Demeclocycline– an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections.

Famotidine– a histamine blocker used to treat and prevent ulcers.

Fluoroquinolones– antimicrobials used to kill bacteria in pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and diarrhea.

Lansoprazole– used to prevent stomach ulcers and to treat other conditions in which the stomach produces too much acid.

Macrolides– antibiotics used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections.

Metformin– type 2 diabetes drug, known to cause vitamin B12 deficiency.

Methyldopa (Aldomet®) – reduces vitamin B12 levels, leading to a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Minocycline– antibiotic used to help treat periodontal disease, acne, and inflammatory arthritis.

Neomycin– antibiotic, antibacterial used topically to treat skin infections, wounds, and burns. Neomycin impairs vitamin B12 absorption and has been shown to decrease vitamin B12 levels.

Nizatidine– used to treat and prevent stomach ulcers, intestinal ulcers, and acid reflux.

Omeprazole (Prilosec®) -used for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Oral contraceptives– oral contraceptives with high estrogen content leads to decreased levels of vitamin B12.

Phenobarbital (Donnatal®, Solfoton®) -barbiturate, anticonvulsant that results in decreased levels of vitamin B6 and vitamin B12, in addition to elevated homocysteine levels. (Vitamin B12, Homocysteine, and your Heart)

Phenytoin– an antiepileptic drug.

Potassium chloride– used for dehydration, can be deadly in its concentrated form.

Ranitidine (Zantac®) H2-receptor, heartburn medication used to suppress production of stomach acids that are necessary for digesting vitamin B12.

Sulfonamides– antibiotics used to treat a wide range of bacterial infections.

Tetracyclines (Achromycin®, Sumycin®, Tetra-C®, Tetracyn®, Tetralyn®, Tetram®, Tropicycline®) – antibiotics prescribed for acne.

Trimethoprim– (TMP/SMX) is used to treat urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and “travelers’ diarrhea.”

Valproic Acid (Depakene®) – anticonvulsant used for migraine headache prevention.

Foods high in B12

This is how much B12 you’ll find in a 3-ounce serving of these foods:

It is recommended that a person 14 years or older intakes roughly 3 micrograms of B12 per day.

Cooked clams: 84.1 micrograms

Steamed mussels: 20.4 micrograms

Cooked Atlantic mackerel: 16.1 micrograms

Steamed Alaska king crab: 9.8 micrograms

Cooked wild rainbow trout 5.4 micrograms

Cooked salmon: 2.4 micrograms

Beef, lamb, pork, chicken liver: Can run from 12 to 70 micrograms. Lamb liver being the highest.

2 Large eggs: 1.2 micrograms**