Vitamin B-12 status in a macrobiotic community.
Vitamin B-12 status was assessed in a group of 110 adults and 42 children from a macrobiotic community in New England. Dietary and anthropometric information also was obtained. Fifty-one percent of the adults had low concentrations of serum vitamin B-12, which inversely correlated with duration of macrobiotic diet practice. Urinary methylmalonic acid (MMA) excretion was inversely correlated with serum vitamin B-12, and 30% of adults sampled had high urinary MMA. Fifty-five percent of children had high urinary MMA, and MMA was higher in the group that consumed a macrobiotic diet during their entire lifetime. Children were relatively short in stature and weight, and decreased stature was associated with high urinary MMA. In both adults and children vitamin B-12 status was better with more consumption of dairy products or with higher tertile of reported frequencies of vitamin B-12 consumption of various animal products. Vitamin B-12 status appeared to be unrelated to consumption of several vegetarian foods.
Miller
D R
DR
Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester.
Specker
B L
BL
Ho
M L
ML
Norman
E J
EJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003611:Dairy Products; D015623:Diet, Macrobiotic; D004531:Eggs; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008764:Methylmalonic Acid / Q000652:urine; D008875:Middle Aged; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014675:Vegetables; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood*
D008764:Methylmalonic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12