High levels of Vitamin B12 tend to be found in animal products. How can vegetarians and vegans insure that they are getting adequate supplies of Vitamin B12? According to research, brewers yeast, spirulina, and seaweed do not have reliable sources! (Check chart below for more sources of B12)

Red Star Nutritional Yeast, fortified cereals, dairy and eggs have B12.

But alas! Maybe some dang gui will do the trick? In TCM we say it tonifies the blood. Apparently it does have Vitamin B12 in it! I have yet to find formal research stating that Dang gui will bring up B12 levels, but TCM practitioners have tonified the blood for thousands of years with dang gui, eliminating B12 deficiency symptoms.

According to Web MD symptoms are similar to liver blood and spleen qi deficiency in TCM.

What are the symptoms?

If your vitamin B12 deficiency is mild, you may not have symptoms or you may not notice them. Some people may think they are just the result of growing older. As the anemia gets worse, you may:

• Feel weak, tired, and lightheaded.
• Have pale skin.
• Have a sore, red tongue or bleeding gums.
• Feel sick to your stomach and lose weight.
• Have diarrhea or constipation.

If the level of vitamin B12 stays low for a long time, it can damage your nerve cells. If this happens, you may have:

• Numbness or tingling in your fingers and toes.
• A poor sense of balance.
• Depression.
• Dementia, a loss of mental abilities.

Vegetarian Sources Of Vitamin B12: