Plant Based Diet Vitamin B12. As milk and eggs are sources of this vitamin they should increase the amount of these foods in their diet to avoid a shortfall as 1 cup of milk and 1 egg per day only provides about two-thirds of the daily recommendation. These benefits include greater intakes of plant protein dietary fiber certain micronutrients including magnesium and a host of cell-protecting antioxidants.
Vitamin B12 is one nutrient. When it comes to a plant-based diet it is not uncommon to be quizzed about your nutritional intake especially of vitamin B12. Humans can get B12 from plant based foods Spirulina and some other algeas are naturally rich in B12.
B12 deficiency is not very common among those with whole food plant-based or vegan dietsbecause the good news is that B12 fortified foods are not difficult to find.
One of the easiest plant-based sources is actually breakfast cereal fortified with B12 such as Kashis Heart to Heart Cheerios or Kellogs Corn Flakes. Fortified foods include some breakfast cereals check the ingredients label yeast extracts eg Marmite or Meridian Yeast Extract nutritional yeast with B12 vegetable margarines some meat alternatives and plant milks and yogurts. Even on the usual Australian diet many older persons will need a supplement due to reduced intestinal absorption of vitamin B12. The second vitamin B12 option for those with plant-based diets is to eat B12 fortified foods.
