Husband is super vegetarian and exhausted - B12?

[legsgran]

My husband has been a strict vegetarian for 15 years, he's now 68 and some days gets so exhausted he can't get out of bed. In every other respect he's really healthy, and don't think a GP would do a thing, (even if I could get him to go!). He has been tested for everything, and 'normal' but I suspect low ferretin and/or B12? How can I get him more iron if he won't eat meat? He already eats loads of green leafy stuff.

[Marz]

You say you cannot get him to the Doc and yet you say he has been tested for everything - so what was tested and what were the results ?

Private Testing available on the Thyroid UK website. Think it was posted for you on an earlier post of yours 🤔

[legsgran in reply to Marz]

He won't go to the doctor again because he has already been tested for all the usual things they test for at GP (i.e. serious illness - nothing useful in the vitamin line, and in any case the ranges are all wrong usually!) - he's scared of being seen as a hypochondriac! Most of the time he's ok, just occasionally he gets bouts of tiredness. My question was whether vegetarianism is likely to cause low B12 or if anyone has experience of that. I will go for private testing when we can afford it. I'm tempted just to give him some spray B12 and see if it helps. Probably not the right forum to post.

[Marz in reply to legsgran]

Always better to test first for B12 as supplementing is according to the result. I do think it is safe to say he will be very low having been a vegetarian for many years. B12 is mostly in red meat and I understood all vegetarians supplemented !

As we age our stomach acid lowers so absorbing nutrients from food is poor - even from a good diet.

When supplementing B12 - also a B Complex is good to keep all the B's in balance. VitD will probably be low and Ferritin.

[legsgran in reply to Marz]

Thanks!

[BadHare in reply to legsgran]

I’m vegetarian, & take supplements for micronutrients I might be missing. There are lots of vegetarian & vegan iron supplements available. Despite very high dietary B12 & B complex, my levels were low. I found sublinguals made me feel better, also vegetarian, though better still for injecting. You can’t force your hubby, but perhaps putting these supplements in front of him could help.

[legsgran in reply to BadHare]

Thanks a lot, very helpful. Yes, I have bought a B12/ ferritin test for him, will be interested to see the results. In any case I don't think he takes much more than a multivitamin (which is pretty useless) and cod liver oil, though recently he will eat fish occasionally, so I push that, (and eggs), and will certainly get some decent supplements when we get the results. (He stopped eating meat years ago when he saw 'Babe'! Seriously. Though, good for him. )

[BadHare in reply to legsgran]

I use nutritional yeast a lot in winter which contains basic B’s but only cyanocobalamin. Most vegans I know use it daily. I don’t rely on it for B’s but use it as it as a condiment as it tastes so nice. A blue B12 tub is just over £3 & lasts me a month or so. I add it to soups & stews , & sprinkle it on things like baked squash. Don’t be put off by the odd appearance texture. 🤗

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Presumably as a vegetarian he takes vitamin supplements everyday and has always done so?

If not, then highly likely to be extremely low in B12 and possibly ferritin

Low B12 symptoms

b12deficiency.info/signs-an...

academic.oup.com/nutritionr...

The present review of the literature regarding B12 status among vegetarians shows that the rates of B12 depletion and deficiency are high. It is, therefore, recommended that health professionals alert vegetarians about the risk of developing subnormal B12 status. Vegetarians should also take preventive measures to ensure adequate intake of this vitamin, including the regular intake of B12 supplements to prevent deficiency. Considering the low absorption rate of B12 from supplements, a dose of at least 250 μg should be ingested for the best results.3

What are his recent vitamin D, folate, B12 and ferritin test results ?

Strongly recommend getting FULL thyroid and vitamin testing

Private tests are available.

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/testin...

For thyroid including antibodies and vitamins

Medichecks Thyroid plus ultra vitamin or Blue Horizon Thyroid plus eleven are the most popular choice. DIY finger prick test or option to pay extra for private blood draw. Both companies often have special offers, Medichecks usually have offers on Thursdays, Blue Horizon its more random

[BadHare in reply to SlowDragon]

Dairy contains B12, so it’s only vegans that need to be concerned when dairy is excluded. My B12 RDA was over 1000% a day not including my supplements, I just wasn’t utilising it effectively.

[SlowDragon Administrator]

On offer today

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[legsgran in reply to SlowDragon]

great, thank you.

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

legsgran

How can I get him more iron if he won't eat meat? He already eats loads of green leafy stuff.

Here's one list of iron rich foods, probably more if you use your favourite search engine.

apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/in...

Don't let him supplement unless he has an iron panel/full blood count. Same with B12 - test first, also folate.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

He already eats loads of green leafy stuff.

Some green leafy stuff inhibits absorption of iron.

I suggest you read this document:

Several food sources of iron are listed in Table 2. Some plant-based foods that are good sources of iron, such as spinach, have low iron bioavailability because they contain iron-absorption inhibitors, such as polyphenols.

ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/I...

[BadHare in reply to helvella]

Also phytate in grains.

[Angel_of_the_North]

Could be low ferritin and/or low B12, but also look into supplementing BCAAs as veg protein is generally too low in leucine (unless he eats lots of eggs). Many leafy greens contain phytic and oxalic acid which block iron uptake - you can try cooking in iron pans. I have very low ferritin but my iron is high, so don't assume that low ferritin = low iron. Best get a full iron panel done

[legsgran]

good advice, many thanks