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), and their inclusion in the diet will ensure its availability. Another factor to consider: Fermentation increases the B 12 content of foods dramatically. Soybean meal has 0.2 micrograms per 100 grams, while tempeh( a fermented soybean cake that is becoming increasingly available in our natural-foods stores) offers from 1.5 to 6.3 micrograms per 100 grams( 3.5 ounces) average serving. The B 12 increase is due to a bacterium that is present alongside the fermenting mold. 28 It is interesting to note in this context that traditional dietary systems that include a high proportion of complex carbohydrate foods and little, if any, B 12-rich organ meats also feature many fermented products. It seems possible that other fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles, miso, sourdough bread, natural beer— in fact, any fermentable carbohydrate— could all help our own intestinal bacteria synthesize B 12. A pure vegetarian way of eating, then, that also includes whole grains, fermented soy products, pickled or fermented vegetables, and sea vegetables should theoretically provide and / or help synthesize enough B 12 to meet our needs. It wouldn’ t be necessary then to resort to injections or supplementation( as many vegetarians do), unless there was a problem of malabsorption. My own experience corroborates this. Although I have not been a pure vegetarian, since 1964 I’ ve been eating mostly grains, beans, vegetables, miso, natural soy sauce, some seaweed, fruit, nuts, and either fish, eggs, or chicken once or twice a week. No meat, no liver, almost no milk products. My blood was tested extensively at New York’ s Bellevue Hospital hematology laboratory in 1977, after some thirteen years on this kind of diet— plenty of time for pernicious anemia to develop. The results showed an iron level of 131, well within the normal range of 50 to 160. At this writing in 1984, as I am functioning very comfortably on five or six hours of sleep, with no signs of fatigue or sluggishness, I don’ t think the picture has changed; and although I eat small amounts of animal protein more often now, I still don’ t come near the recommended levels of protein or liver. Not all vegetarians will either consume or absorb all the B 12 they need. Bill Spear, director of the Macrobiotic Association of Connecticut in Middletown, has been studying B 12 deficiency symptoms in macrobiotic children. He found that this syndrome appears occasionally in families following a fairly strict vegetarian macrobiotic regime that is also very low in salt and fermented soy foods such as miso and shoyu( tamari). 29 Pure vegetarians— vegans— may have more difficulty than those who consume even small amounts of animal protein. If you are in doubt, or you are a vegan and often feel tired, have your blood level of B 12 tested.

VITAMIN B 12 CONTENT IN FOODS Micrograms per 100 grams or 3.5 ounces

‖ Green beans 0 – 0.2

Kelp 0.5 – 1.0 Kombu( seaweed) 0.5 – 1.0 Oats 0.3 Nori( seaweed) 0.7 Soybean meal 0.2 Tempeh 1.5 – 6.3