Diet Friendly Fast Food: b12

Showing posts with label b12. Show all posts

Friday, March 6, 2015

Baked Honey Mustard Coho Salmon Easy to Prepare and Full of DHA EPA B12 Selenium and More

Salmon Provides Vital Nutrients to your Diet

Cohos are in season and I’ve seen some pretty amazing deals lately. I usually buy a few pounds, slice the fillets in thin, 4 to 6 oz pieces and freeze some for later. Although summer is the ideal time for eating mostly raw fruits and vegetables, fish meals provide very important nutrients. In particular, EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, niacin, vitamin B6, selenium and phosphorus. Salmon is low in mercury so it can be enjoyed regularly.

EPA and DHA are the omega 3 fatty acids most beneficial to your health and are vital for brain development and maintaining healthy arteries. You cannot get EPA and DHA from plants. The body can convert ALA omega 3 into EPA and DHA but not everyone’s body does this efficiently. One half of the fat in the human brain is DHA. This nutrient is especially important for pregnant women for proper fetal development.

You also cannot get vitamin B12 from plants. So vegans MUST supplement with this vitamin or they may eventually suffer from megaloblastic anemia, nerve demyelinization and other nervous system problems like confusion and depression. This is a good reason for raw foodists to enjoy an occasional piece of salmon.

Six ounces of Coho salmon cooked with dry heat provides:

236 calories

8 g fat

2 g saturated fat

94 mg cholesterol

0 carbohydrates

0 fiber

40 grams protein

1.9 g omega 3

1.8 g EPA and DHA

0.1 g omega 6

13.6 mg niacin (68% DV)*

1 mg B6 (48% DV)

8.6 mcg B12 (142% DV)

64.6 mcg selenium (92% DV)

548 mg phosphorous (54% DV)

* for adults based on a 2,000 calorie reference diet. Source, Nutritiondata.com

Fast and Easy

With 5 minutes of preparation and less than 15 minutes cooking time, this may be one of the easiest recipes you will ever make. I served this to a dozen people last weekend so feel free to double, triple and quadruple the recipe. The only difference is, it may take an extra minute or so to cook when you have lots of salmon in the pan.

***

Baked Honey Mustard Coho Salmon [serves 2]

3/4 pound wild Coho Salmon filet

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons local honey

1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped -optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking dish with olive oil. Wash off the salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut into 2 equal pieces. Rub the pieces briefly in the oiled pan skin side up to coat the salmon and then turn them skin side down. In a small cup, mix mustard, honey, lemon juice and sea salt until smooth. Spoon the mixture over the top and sides of the salmon. Bake for 12 minutes or until salmon flakes with a fork (do not over cook). Top with black pepper to taste and garnish with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Dr Michael Klaper Tells Raw Food Vegans What They Need To Know About Vitamin B12 At Raw Health Expo

This vegan lemon basil pesto contains B12-rich nutritional yeast

The Truth Is Refreshing at Sebastopol Raw Food Expo

On July 31st and August 1st I attended the Sonoma County Raw Health Expo in Sebastopol, California. I havent been to a raw food expo in a while. What I noticed this time was that the speakers were more realistic and forthright in their opinions about the few nutritional risks of a 100% raw food diet. In the past, many of the speakers would insist that everything that anyone could possibly need can be obtained from raw, live plants. I spent years studying this question. In fact my PhD dissertation topic was, "The Nutritional Adequacy of a Raw Food Vegan Diet". In this I concluded that you could not get adequate amounts of vitamins D and B12 from raw plants alone. For these you must supplement or eat foods that contain them. I also concluded that careful meal planning was required to ensure the adequate consumption of vitamins E and B2, calcium, iodine, iron, zinc and the amino acid, methionine. Since that study, I would add today that although the omega 3 fatty acid ALA is easily obtained in the raw food diet, the more important DHA and EPA omega 3 fatty acids are not. Although these are said to be manufactured by the body from ALA, it is now known that in most people this process is very inefficient and some people cannot make this conversion at all. A person who is on a 100% raw food diet for an extended period of time should have their blood tested for all essential vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, especially if they are pregnant or breast feeding.

Dr. Michael Klaper, a specialist in vegan nutrition, gave an excellent talk on vitamin B12. He clearly stated that you cannot get vitamin B12 from plants, period. There are several myths held by some of the early raw food pioneers that Dr. Klaper dispelled.

Myth Number One: You could get sufficient amounts of this nutrient from the B12 produced in your intestines by friendly bacteria.

Truth: Although it is true that bacteria in your intestines produce vitamin B12, it is produced well beyond the point where it would be absorbed.

Myth Number Two: B12 can be found on vegetables that are not washed because the bacteria-enriched dirt would supply adequate amounts of this critical nutrient.

Truth: This may be true in developing countries where unwashed vegetables are fertilized by human manure but it is not true in industrialized countries.

Myth Number Three: Raw food vegans who havent supplemented in years but show no deficiencies are OK.

Truth: Vitamin B12 is stored in the body and only a small amount of it is lost each day. It could take years for a person to develop a severe deficiency. Unfortunately, when it does, it could be irreversible.

Here are more highlights from Dr. Klapers talk:

Why We Need Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, is required for:

* Production of red blood cells. Deficiency leads to anemia.

* Healthy nerves and spinal cord. Deficiency could lead to irreversible spinal cord damage.

* Healthy brain function. Deficiency leads to dementia.

* Detoxification of homocysteine. Deficiency leads to elevated levels of the amino acid homocysteine which can damage arteries and lead to cardiovascular disease.

Are There Vegan B12 Sources?

The only real natural source of vitamin B12 are from microorganisms and the animals that consume them. There are no reliably good "natural vegan sources". It was once thought that tempeh, tofu, miso, shoya, tamari and umeboshi plums were sources but further analysis found no significant B12. It was also thought that seaweeds, algae, chlorella and spirulina were high in B12 however, it was found that they actually contain B12 "analogues". These analogues are structurally similar to vitamin B12 and can actually block the B12 receptors and increase the risk of deficiency.

Dr. Klaper recommends getting vitamin B12 from multiple sources like Vegetarian Support Formula Red Star Nutritional Yeast and B12 supplements. The most absorbable form of B12 supplements, according to Klaper, is hydroxocobalamin, and he recommends taking 5 micrograms daily or even a monthly injection.

The Most "At Risk" Individuals

Dr. Klaper said that the people most "at risk" for vitamin B12 deficiency are long term vegans and infants of vegans who are breast fed. He very strongly warned, "If a vegan nurses their child without taking vitamin B12 they are putting their child at risk!"

A big thanks to Dr. Klaper for his honesty and for spreading the word on this very important matter. It is easy to get swept away with being raw and wanting to do absolutely everything in a natural way. But vitamin B12 deficiency is very real and very dangerous.

For a raw food recipe that uses vitamin B12-rich nutritional yeast, see my Raw Vegan Lemon Basil Pesto with Raw Zucchini Spaghetti.