In 2011, Gilsing et al reported on the "Serum concentrations of vitamin B12 and folate in British male omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans: results from a cross-sectional analysis of the EPIC-Oxford cohort study." They found that 52% of vegans had vitamin B-12 deficiency.
Now a 2011 study published in Early Human Development by Goedhart et al--"Maternal vitamin B-12 and folate status during pregnancy and excessive infant crying" -- finds that women with low B-12 status are more likely to have infants that cry more than 3 hours at a time:
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The etiology of excessive infant crying is largely unknown. We hypothesize that excessive infant crying may have an early nutritional origin during fetal development.
AIMS: This study is the first to explore whether (1) maternal vitamin B-12 and folate status during pregnancy are associated with excessive infant crying, and (2) whether and how maternal psychological well-being during pregnancy affects these associations.
STUDY DESIGN: Women were approached around the 12th pregnancy week to complete a questionnaire (n=8266) and to donate a blood sample (n=4389); vitamin B-12 and folate concentrations were determined in serum. Infant crying behavior was measured through a postpartum questionnaire (±3months; n=5218).
SUBJECTS: Pregnant women living in Amsterdam and their newborn child.
OUTCOME MEASURES: Excessive infant crying, defined as crying ≥3h/day on average in the past week.
RESULTS: Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed for 2921 (vitamin B-12) and 2622 (folate) women.Vitamin B-12 concentration (categorized into quintiles) was associated with excessive infant crying after adjustment for maternal age, parity, ethnicity, education, maternal smoking and psychological problems (OR[95%CI]: Q1=3.31[1.48-7.41]; Q2=2.50[1.08-5.77]; Q3=2.59[1.12-6.00]; Q4=2.77[1.20-6.40]; Q5 = reference). Stratified analysis suggested a stronger association among women with high levels of psychological problems during pregnancy. Folate concentration was not associated with excessive infant crying.
CONCLUSIONS: First evidence is provided for an early nutritional origin in excessive infant crying. A low maternal vitamin B-12 status during pregnancy could, in theory, affect infant crying behavior through two potential mechanisms: the methionine-homocysteine metabolism and/or the maturation of the sleep-wake rhythm.
Since meat and fish are the richest sources of B-12, as the Mail Online put it, "a steak for pregnant mothers could stop babies crying." Forget the stupid final remark by the veg*n nutritionist Yvonne Bishop-Weston. She proves herself clueless by it. If anything will destroy your own or your baby's brain, its a vegan diet, not steak, as you will see below.
I find their report of "a stronger association among women with high levels of psychological problems during pregnancy" intriguing. Could B-12 deficiency due to meat avoidance increase psychological problems in adults? Sure enough.
Durand et al reported on a case of "Psychiatric manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency."
Psychiatric manifestations are frequently associated with pernicious anemia including depression, mania, psychosis, dementia. We report a case of a patient with vitamin B12 deficiency, who has presented severe depression with delusion and Capgras' syndrome, delusion with lability of mood and hypomania successively, during a period of two Months. ...
At admission she was uncooperative, disoriented in time and presented memory and attention impairment and sleep disorders. She seemed sad and older than her real age. Facial expression and spontaneous movements were reduced, her speech and movements were very slow. She had depressed mood, guilt complex, incurability and devaluation impressions. She had a Capgras' syndrome and delusion of persecution....
Further investigations confirmed anemia (hemoglobin=11,4 g/dl) and revealed vitamin B12 deficiency (52 pmol/l) and normal folate level....Vitamin B12 replacement therapy was started with hydroxycobalamin 1 000 ng/day im for 10 days and iron replacement therapy. Her mental state improved dramatically within a few days. After one week of treatment the only remaining symptoms were lability of mood, delusion of persecution, Capgras' syndrome but disappeared totally 9 days after the beginning of the treatment. ...
To illustrate this illness we reviewed the literature regarding psychopathology associated with B12 deficiency. The most common psychiatric symptoms were depression, mania, psychotic symptoms, cognitive impairment and obsessive compulsive disorder. The neuropsychiatric severity by vitamin B12 deficiency and the therapeutic efficacy depends on the duration of signs and symptoms.
Conclusion - We recommend consideration of B12 deficiency and serum B12 determinations in all the patients with organic mental disorders, atypical psychiatric symptoms and fluctuation of symptomatology. B12 levels should be evaluated with treatment resistant depressive disorders, dementia, psychosis or risk factors for malnutrition such as alcoholism or advancing age associated with neurological symptoms, anemia, malabsorption, gastrointestinal surgery, parasite infestation or strict vegetarian diet.
If you search Pub Med you can find lots of articles on psychiatric complications of B-12 deficiency. Therefore, the finding that women with psychological problems during pregnancy were more likely to have cry babies probably means that those women were more severely B-12 deficient than others.
What else can happen if you don't get enough B-12 during pregnancy?
Lovblad et al reported a case of "Retardation of myelination due to dietary vitamin B12 deficiency:"
Casella et al reported on "Vitamin B12 deficiency in infancy as a cause of developmental regression."Abstract
Vitamin B12 deficiency is known to be associated with signs of demyelination, usually in the spinal cord. Lack of vitamin B12 in the maternal diet during pregnancy has been shown to cause severe retardation of myelination in the nervous system. We report the case of a 14(1)/2-month-old child of strictly vegetarian parents who presented with severe psychomotor retardation. This severely hypotonic child had anemia due to insufficient maternal intake of vitamin B12 with associated megaloblastic anemia. MRI of the brain revealed severe brain atrophy with signs of retarded myelination, the frontal and temporal lobes being most severely affected. It was concluded that this myelination retardation was due to insufficient intake of vitamin B12 and vitamin B12 therapy was instituted. The patient responded well with improvement of clinical and imaging abnormalities. We stress the importance of MRI in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with suspected diseases of myelination.
Abstract
Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause serious developmental regression, hypotonia and cerebral atrophy in infants. We report a 6-month-old infant, with insidious developmental regression and brain atrophy showed by CT scan, secondarily to vitamin B12 deficiency. His mother was a strict vegetarian and the patient was exclusively breastfed. The clinical symptoms and the brain CT were normalized after vitamin B12 administration.
So we can conclude:
- B-12 deficiency during pregnancy may produce cry babies.
- B-12 deficiency during pregnancy can give your baby brain damage.
- B-12 deficiency can make you crazy.
So I guess that proves the superiority of a vegan diet, especially a raw one (sarcasm).
Starting to understand why some long-term unsupplemented vegans can seem a little, well, light headed? Perhaps some of that gray matter is missing?
Might this explain why it can be so difficult to reason with vegan luminaries such as T. Colin Campbell?
Stay sane, stay smart. Eat meat.
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