spirulina vs B12/vegans

[Guest guest]

I have used a protein shake mix with spirulina in it for years. I’ll be interested in the

answers to your question.

Speaking of B12.

That’s one of my questions I was planning on asking. How are vegans

making sure they get B12? I took a sublingual B12 once and I started getting

sores on the corner of my mouth and later read that an imbalance of B vitamins

can cause those sores. They went away soon as I quit using the sublingual.

Also, I read that just taking B12 gets killed in the stomach before it even

reaches our blood stream. This was several years ago when I was completely

vegan. Is there new ideas or insight on this subject

now?

April

Have just read, on another list,

that spirulina supposedly blocks the absorption of B12.

Anyone?

Shari

[Guest guest]

Yes, you are right –

Spirulina has what is called an “analog”

of vitamin B12 – The majority of B12 found in spirulina

and chlorella is not bioavailable. Even worse is that the B12 it has can

block true B12 coming from other sources. It's kind of like a wrong sized and

shaped peg crammed into a hole that's too small for it. This analog gets stuck

at the receptor site and then the correct peg/B12 can't get through because of

what's blocking its way. This has

the potential to induce pernicious anemia if " too " much spirulina or chlorella is taken!

However, there is an algae – blue/green algae, or aphanizomenon

flos aquae (AFA) that has bioavailable B12.

It is known that

generally only bacteria (not plants) synthesize vitamin B12. But AFA is not a

typical " plant, " but is instead technically termed a " cyanobacterium. " Algologists believe that AFA

accumulates B12 that has been synthesized by other bacteria, much as animals do

by assimilating it from their environment. Numerous microbiological tests approved

by the Association of Analytical Chemists (AOAC) demonstrate that Aph. flos-aquae

does indeed contain significant amounts of this vital nutrient.

Vitamin B12, which is in the corrinoid

family, contains many variations or " analogs, " some of which are

active in humans and some of which are not. The testing results on Aph. flos-aquae,

indicate significant B12 activity. See

http://tinyurl.com/7vz35

Therefore, unlike other plant foods that contain corrinoids

with virtually no vitamin B12 activity, AFA is shown to be a reliable source

for vegetarians seeking to supplement their diets with a bioactive form of this

important nutrient.

Carol