Discovery of B12
By Don Bennett,
DAS
There
are anti-supplement Youtubers who are making videos claiming that B12
is a hoax, and that vegans do not need to take a B12 supplement. This
is dangerous rhetoric. Why? Because in reality, it is
possible for vegans to become low in B12. It happened to me, and it
has happened to others. Take "Lawrence" for example. He was
developing symptoms of ill health. Based on those symptoms, and on my
own experience, I suggested he get his B12 tested. Lawrence being anti-supplement
and having bought into the lovely sounding notion that when you eat
a super healthy diet, you don't need any nutritional supplements, did
not heed my advice and said that his body would heal whatever was wrong
with it. It didn't, because he did have a B12 deficiency. Once his symptoms
got so severe that he had to go to the emergency room, the deficiency
was diagnosed, but the damage to his neurological systems was done and
irreversible. And since then I have counseled many vegans and raw vegans,
testing them for the three most problematic nutrients, D, iodine, and
B12.
It
is claimed by some of the anti-supplement folks that Karl Folker's team
at Merck & Co. started the B12 scam. But the reality was that Karl
Folker's team was instrumental in the discovery of B12 by isolating
the pure, red, crystalline compound in 1948. The existence of a factor
that could treat a horrible condition called pernicious anemia was already
known, but its chemical nature was a mystery.
Folkers'
discovery built upon decades of prior scientific research:
1920s: Scientists learned that feeding liver to patients with pernicious
anemia could cure the disease.
1928:
Edwin Cohn produced a liver extract that was far more potent than the
raw liver and helped concentrate the active factor.
1947:
Mary Shaw Shorb, a microbiologist, developed an assay using the bacterium
Lactobacillus lactis to test the potency of liver extracts. She found
that the most active extracts were a distinct reddish color.
1948:
Shorb partnered with Folkers and his team at Merck, who used her bacterial
assay to isolate the red crystals that would become known as vitamin
B12. Around the same time, a British team at Glaxo Laboratories independently
isolated the same compound.
1950s–1970s:
Subsequent research by Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin determined the complex
molecular structure of vitamin B12 using X-ray crystallography, and
Robert Burns Woodward, Albert Eschenmoser, and their teams later accomplished
the total synthesis of the molecule.
In
short, Folkers' work was a crucial step in isolating and commercializing
vitamin B12, but it was part of a collaborative, multi-decade scientific
effort. And yet, today we have supposedly intelligent people claiming
that B12 is a scam. But I suppose since there also are people who are
100% sure that the Earth is flat despite all the evidence to the contrary,
there will always be people who choose to believe what they prefer to
believe, having no purchase on reality. Me? I choose reality.
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Here's
what a maximally truth-seeking AI
has to say on this subject
The claim
that B12 is a "hoax" likely stems from misunderstandings
or cherry-picked narratives, often spread by influencers prioritizing
attention over evidence (emphasis
mine).
Here’s
why this is dangerous:
* Scientific
Consensus: Decades of research confirm B12’s essential
role. Studies (e.g., in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)
show vegans have lower B12 levels without supplementation, with
deficiency rates as high as 80% in unsupplemented vegan populations.
* Misinformation
Tactics: Influencers may claim B12 is "unnecessary"
by citing rare cases of people who seem fine without supplements,
ignoring that deficiency symptoms can take years to manifest due
to liver stores. Others may push unproven sources like spirulina
or seaweed, which contain B12 analogs that don’t function
like true, active B12.
* Impact:
Convincing people to avoid B12 puts them at risk, especially raw
vegans who already face challenges meeting nutrient needs. This
can lead to long-term health consequences (and
health advocates should abide by "First, do no harm"
just as medical doctors should).
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For
those preferring facts over opinions...
Historical
Context: The "Anti-Pernicious Anemia Factor"
The original
designation of what we now call vitamin B12 as the "anti-pernicious
anemia factor" (or sometimes "extrinsic factor")
is accurate and not controversial. Pernicious anemia is a condition
characterized by fatigue, neurological issues, and potentially
fatal blood disorders due to impaired red blood cell production.
In the 1920s, researchers like George Minot and William Murphy
discovered that consuming large amounts of raw liver could treat
it, earning them a Nobel Prize in 1934. However, the active compound
in liver wasn't identified immediately.
Scientists
began searching for this "anti-pernicious anemia factor"
in the 1930s, recognizing it as a substance essential for human
health but for some reason not produced by some people's bodies
in sufficient quantities. Efforts to isolate it ramped up, involving
multiple labs worldwide.
Karl Folkers,
a chemist at Merck & Co., played a pivotal role in isolating
the compound. He joined Merck in 1934 and led research teams working
on vitamins and other biochemicals. His work on B12 began around
1938, building on earlier liver extract studies. In collaboration
with microbiologist Mary Shorb (who developed a bacterial assay
to speed up testing) and others, Folkers' team at Merck isolated
the substance from liver extracts in 1947. Independently, a team
at Glaxo in the UK achieved a similar isolation around the same
time.
Once isolated,
the compound was identified as containing cobalt (hence "cobalamin")
and classified as part of the B-vitamin complex due to its water-soluble
nature and essential role in metabolism, similar to other B vitamins
like B1 (thiamine) and B6 (pyridoxine), which Folkers had also
helped synthesize or isolate. It was designated "vitamin
B12" in sequence with the existing B vitamins, reflecting
scientific convention rather than any arbitrary decision. Clinical
tests in 1948 confirmed it cured pernicious anemia patients.
The idea that
B12 is a "hoax" or "not real" seems to originate
from fringe theories, often amplified on social media like Instagram
or YouTube. Common arguments include:
• B12
is produced by bacteria, not a "true" vitamin: True,
B12 is synthesized by microbes (e.g., in soil, animal guts, or
fermented foods), but this doesn't make it less of a vitamin –
many vitamins (like K2) are bacterially produced but still essential
in the diet.
• It's
a scam to sell meat/supplements: Some raw food or vegan advocates
claim B12 deficiency is exaggerated by the meat or pharma industries
to discourage plant-based diets. While some vegans do need to
supplement or eat fortified foods, deficiency is a real, documented
issue leading to anemia, nerve damage, and cognitive problems.
Historical cases of pernicious anemia were resolved by B12.
• No
need for supplements if you live naturally: This can be dangerous
advice; while trace B12 might exist in soil or water in pre-industrial
settings, it's unreliable and risks contamination. Modern evidence
from studies on vegans shows clear deficiency risks without intervention,
though it is possible for vegans to make enough of their own B12,
it requires a number of things that must be done, and some vegans
simply don't do all of them (like not consuming alcohol, not being
overly stressed, and making sure to get enough dietary cobalt).
These claims
of B12 being a scam often ignore peer-reviewed science and empirical
evidence, including decades of research confirming B12's role in
DNA synthesis, nerve function, and red blood cell formation. Organizations
like the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Health affirm it's a genuine vitamin,
with deficiencies affecting up to 15% of the population (especially
older adults, vegans, and those with absorption issues). Viral videos
may sensationalize these claims for views, but they lack substantiation
– B12's discovery was a major medical advancement, not a corporate
plot. |
Recommended
reading...
https://health101.org/b12
Don Bennett
is an insightful, reality-based author, and health creation counselor
who uses the tools in his toolbox – like logic, common
sense, critical thinking, and independent thought – to
figure out how to live so we can be optimally healthy.
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