What Vegetables or Grains Contain B12?
Vitamin B12 is one of the B-complex vitamins. It is also known by a variety of other names including cobrynamide, cobinamide and cobamide. The names for vitamin B12 all indicate the presence of cobalt, the mineral that is found at the center of the vitamin.
Vitamin B12 is one of the B-complex vitamins. It is also known by a variety of other names including cobrynamide, cobinamide and cobamide. The names for vitamin B12 all indicate the presence of cobalt, the mineral that is found at the center of the vitamin. Vitamin B12 is abundant in meat sources but can also be found in some grains. Vegetables are not a good source of vitamin B12, as plants cannot produce this nutrient on their own. However, vegetarians can obtain the RDA by eating fortified vegetarian foods and supplements. The average adult's recommended daily allowance for vitamin B12 is 2.4mcg daily.
Fortified Cereals
Vitamin B12 is found in a variety of fortified breakfast cereals. Grains are often fortified with vitamin B12, as it is a nutrient that animals and plants cannot produce. According to the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, Kellogg's Special K is a breakfast cereal with the highest vitamin B12 content, with 6mcg per cup of cereal. A number of other fortified cereals are also high in B12 content. The amounts of B12 in fortified cereals can vary widely, so check the nutrition label to determine the exact amount of vitamin B12 in your breakfast cereal.
Sea Plants
Sea vegetables, such as kelp or seaweed, and blue-green algae are reported to be a good source of vitamin B12 by the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op. Sea vegetables that contain vitamin B12 include nori, also known as sea lettuce, which is commonly used as a main ingredient in sushi and Asian soups, dulse, a sea vegetable that is reported by the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op to contain 66 percent of the RDA of vitamin B12, and alaria, a sea vegetable that is frequently used in salads and soups.
Grains
According to the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, granola bars, mashed potatoes, potato pancakes, croissants, certain breads, such as rye, cornbread, oatmeal and cracked-wheat, enriched English muffins, and wheat, corn and oat bran muffins contain small amounts of vitamin B12.