Diet & Nutrition Vitamin B12 Research

Cobalamin deficiency in macrobiotic children

Children consuming a macrobiotic diet can suffer with a cobalamin (a constituent of vitamin B12) deficiency which may lead to anaemia, according to researchers at the Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology in the Netherlands.

The researchers investigated children who were given a macrobiotic diet until the age of six and found their levels of cobalamin were lower than those fed an omnivorous diet.

Seventy-three adolescents in the study switched to a lactovegetarian, lacto-ovovegetarian, or omnivorous diet to see whether a moderate consumption of animal products was sufficient to produce a normal cobalamin level in the adolescents following their six year macrobiotic diet.

The researchers measured the blood serum and consumption and frequency of animal products and cobalamin intake from dairy products during the trial. The results of the serum levels showed cobalamin concentrations to be 37% lower but concentrations of MMA and folate significantly higher in the macrobiotic adolescents.

The survey concluded that serum cobalamin levels were not sufficiently restored by the moderate consumption of animal products. A significant number of those adolescents who were formerly on strict macrobiotic diets as children still showed a cobalamin deficiency even after changing their diets. However, whether this apparent deficiency was mirrored by related health problems remains to be seen. Until more research is undertaken, parents should be cautioned against giving a strict macrobiotic diet to their children.

Source : Am J Clin Nutr 1999 Apr;69(4):664-71
Risk of persistent cobalamin deficiency in adolescents fed a macrobiotic diet in early life.van Dusseldorp M, Schneede J, Refsum H

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