Mothers who do not eat any animal products could damage their newborn’s health through a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Reportedly, two breast-fed infants whose mothers’ diets did not include any animal products developed brain abnormalities due to a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Vitamin B12 is essential for brain development and is primarily found in animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs. Since the mothers ate little or no animal products, their breast milk did not provide adequate vitamin B12 to their infants.

Researchers stressed that mothers who choose to not eat animal products should still continue to breastfeed their infants, but they should be sure to consume enough vitamin B12 either through diet or supplements. The only reliable unfortified sources are animal products, however, plant foods fortified with vitamin B12, such as some cereals, meat analogs, soy or rice beverages, and nutritional yeast, can be reliable and regular sources.

If it is not possible to acquire vitamin B12 through food, a daily supplement that contains a reliable source of the vitamin should be taken.

The most common cause of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants and young children is dietary deficiency in the mother, which generally manifests in breastfed infants at age 4 to 8 months. This deficiency is difficult to diagnose because of nonspecific symptoms.

The two affected infants mentioned above had vitamin B12 deficiency and manifested multiple symptoms of under nutrition, particularly growth failure. After treatment for vitamin B12 deficiency, both children showed marked improvement in vitamin B12 status and development.

In some cases, irreversible neurologic damage results from prolonged vitamin B12 deficiency, but the extent and degree of disability depends on the deficiency severity and duration.

Health care providers should be vigilant about the potential for vitamin B12 deficiency in breastfed children of vegetarian mothers. Potential vitamin B12 deficiency should be included in the differential diagnosis when assessing young children of vegetarian mothers who have symptoms consistent with vitamin B12 deficiency, including failure to thrive, developmental delay, neurologic/psychiatric manifestations and hematologic abnormalities.

Health care providers who care for mothers in the preconceptional, prenatal, and postpartum periods and their young children should ask pregnant and lactating mothers about their diets to identify those who are vegetarians.

For those eating no or very limited food of animal origin or a known vitamin B12 source, a vitamin B12 assessment is indicated. If lactating mothers are vitamin B12 deficient, their infants should be evaluated for vitamin B12 deficiency and treated appropriately.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report January 31, 2003;52:61-64

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Since I have incorporated Metabolic Typing into my practice I now understand that some people actually thrive on a diet that has minimal animal protein. These people are carbohydrate types. However, it is still clear that nearly everyone, including carb types, needs some animal protein, but carb types need far less than everyone else. This does not mean that they need to eat beef. It is likely that carb types would benefit from eating clean fish (very difficult to obtain commercially), eggs or raw milk. As long as these food sources were regularly consumed it is likely they could be quite healthy. However, it is my experience that the majority of people who adopt vegetarian lifestyles are in fact not carb types. Some of the sickest people I see are protein types who are consuming a vegetarian diet. In fact, I tried a vegetarian approach myself several years ago. I avoided all meat, as it seemed a reasonable approach. However, I got a major clue when many of my patients were giving me feedback on how sickly I looked. Unfortunately, it took me another few years to develop a greater appreciation of the individual biochemical differences that make some of us require large amounts of animal protein and fat while others need only small amounts. Getting back to this report, it is important to realize that avoiding all animal protein can have devastating health consequences to the children of mothers who pursue this approach. Even the conservative Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now warning doctors to be aware of this issue and to place such women on vitamin B12 supplements. However, in avoiding all animal protein, it is likely that vitamin B12 is not the only lacking nutrient. Yes, you can decrease the risk of brain damage by taking vitamin B12 as a supplement, but it is highly probable that there are indeed other nutrients that are not being received when you avoid all animal products. Obtaining vitamin B12 from its original source would ensure that you receive the other nutrients that could potentially be missing. Related Articles: Vitamin B12: Are You Getting It? Vegans Deficient in Nutrients Many People May Be Deficient in Vitamin B-12 You Can't Get All the Vitamin B12 You Need From Plant Sources