The Importance of B12 – Part 3: Getting B12 in your Diet

By guest contributor Barb Swanson
(author of Beyond Foods: The Handbook of Functional Nutrition)

B12-rich foods
This is part 3 of 3 in my series on B12.

As a reminder:

• Many people are deficient in vitamin B12.
• B12 is utterly essential for ongoing health, from pre-birth onward.

What foods contain good B12 levels?
In the image above, B12 sources for vegetarians, you’ll see mostly animal-based sources–different cheeses and egg dishes. This is because B12 is not created in plants. When you see a 100% plant product touting B12, understand that B12 is added, not innate to the plant. Thus, the rice, soy and coconut milk listed above only contain B12 because it is added in. B12 is, however, formed in bacteria. A good, raw cheese will be naturally fermented, which can add to its B12. However, the best source of B12, on the planet, is not from animals! It is from a specific species of cyanobacteria, or blue-green microalgae. This food is perfect for vegetarians and vegans alike.

There is a lot of misinformation about how B12 from microalgae isn’t actually bioavailable for humans. That is true for all but one species. Viable, proven-effective B12 (based on scientific studies) is found in a wild cyanobacteria, AFA from Klamath Lake. A single gram of this superfood offers more than 100% of your daily requirement of B12.

Quality and Safety
Because AFA is a wild-harvested food–not farmed–it is essential that you use a source that is proven safe via 3rd party testing. New Earth’s entire facility is NSF certified to GMP standards. Additionally, they are routinely tested by their organic certifier and the state of Oregon. Watch the video below to see why New Earth algae is the only algae I will use for myself and my family.

Quality You Can Count On (Testing, Safety, and More) from New Earth on Vimeo.

If you do not see the video in your browser, you can find it HERE.

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