HELP! I want to be a healthy and cheap vegan!

[singing4every1]

I love you all here. Help me if you can :).

Basically, my fiance and I have just moved into our own apartment and I am learning to cook. I can cook a few basics, but not too much yet. So my fiance is on the fence and wants to stay just mostly vegetarian for now, but as for me I want to be completely vegan and natural. So we have a whole food co-op

Comments

[christina6644]

I have been confused as well with the B12 topic because almost every health thing I have read including vegan information states that B12 only comes from animal sources, but then I found that spirulina (sea algae type thing) contains B12, I dont drink it but my dad does, its a green powder that you could probably get from a health food store and he usually just mixes it with some orange juice. Its also a great source of protein and tons of other vitamins and minerals.

With going cheap, I would mostly recommend to just stay away from packadged mock meats and soy yogurt type things. Stick to the vegetable and fruit aisles and stock up on cheap grains & legumes, I know that you want to try and stick to as much organic as possible but its so much more expensive then regular when your buying fruit and vegies.

[perseph]

Spirulina is not a source of B12. It contains analogues of B12 which makes it look as if it has B12 on some tests, but it's been found that humans can't metabolize the B12 analogues. B12 analogues can actually make low B12 levels worse as they get in the way of true B12 being metabolized. Fortified foods or supplements are the only vegan sources of B12.

[christina6644]

:O I had no idea! It lists that it is high in B12 so I assumed it could be absorbed, ah well.

[peaceandcarrots]

The reason that people claim that B12 only comes from animal sources is because we have literally ruined our dirt. B12 is a bacteria that occurs naturally in dirt. You take veggies out of the dirt and you get B12 as long as you don't clean them off to the point to being sterile. BUT. Because of of the pesticides and chemicals and other crap (at least in industrial farming, not sure if this is the same for local organic) the B12 bacterium are no longer present. Due to this situation, the B12 in animals, which also came from the dirt, is also not what it once used to be. B12 is not just a vegan or vegetarian issue, it is an issue for everyone

[iwillcomeagain]

Animals do not create B12. They obtain it from bacteria. Fortified vegan foods obtain B12 from the bacteria not from animals.

[liadlaith]

I've added a B12 tag to your post - if you click on it, it will show you all the posts in this community with that tag, and you can see past discussions and find out information on it.

There are also some helpful links in the userinfo.

[socraticomatic]

genius right here =)

[liadlaith]

After realising I could tag other people's posts, I've begun haphazardly tagging new posts in VP. I am super annoyed there is no "spiders" tag to put on that spider post.

[vgnwtch]

You have? That's fab! I used to tag all untagged posts, but now I just don't have the time to devote to it. It's such a pet peeve of mine that so many discussions are being lost.

[underthethrow]

What is this supplement you take?

[etomlef]

b12 is produced by bacteria. since our water no longer comes from wells, our fruits and vegetables are rigorously washed.. the only way people can currently get b12 is by eating animals.... or eating fortified foods, taking supplements, etc. you do need b12, but not for a while. it's stored up in your liver, so your body will use up that supply first.

[peaceandcarrots]

There is B12 in well water? I had not heard that before. I am on a well and I wonder if I have to do anything special to make sure I don't filter it out somehow. Cool though.