I went to a raw food talk last night. I didn't find the speaker particularly enthralling and some of her ideas seemed very sketchy.

Anyway one of her comments was that you can get vitamin B12 by walking barefoot outside in the countryside. I asked her where her evidence for this came from and she told me that Gabriel Cousins has been researching it. It sounds extremely unlikely to me. I have had a quick google and not found anything so I am bringing it to you guys.

Do you know anything about this?

Ive never came across any information to suggest this, in my opinion sounds like more nonsense on vitamin b12.

Ive heard it all now you can breathe b12 in via the air, through your feet, having a dog lol.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

No. But perhaps vintners who stomp in bare feet through grapes that have trailed through manure would be the people to ask? I am not joking, by the way--this is still how it's done in rural Italy. Maybe there's a study from Italy somewhere out there?

Gonna go check . . . . I'm back after an extensive search on the Google: not a darn thing on this subject.

Who was the speaker, flipperjan?

found a bit of discussion here [www.veganforum.com]

but not much else ...

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

You would need the carrier agent such as DMSO though. Also some parasites can actually enter the body via the soles of the feet, so even hypothetically if you could obtain the RDA of vitamin b12 through walking barefoot i probably still wouldn't.

In my opinion its this kind of stuff which cheapens the raw food movement to outsiders, breathing in b12, walking barefoot to get b12, none of it has any scientific basis whatsoever. Some of these gurus just seem to make up whatever they want.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

I've never personally tried this, but I heard that if you put garlic and/or oregano oil on the soles of your feet that after several minutes you can taste it in your mouth? I would think the concept would be the same. I doubt you could get your recommended daily amount of B12 by just walking barefoot everywhere though.

Anyway you slice it, B12 supplementation is probably a good idea. Hey! I hear walking barefoot in the grass for 10 miles is good for your heart too.

Powerlifter,
You said it exactly. I was hesitating to suggest parasites, as I saw a program about creepy things like that. I suppose that is one possible way, but for the most part parasites subtract well being, not add to it.

I started a habit of eating my first meal and brushing my teeth afterwards. Most people I think brush their teeth the first thing. But I had heard of the possibility that one has b12 in their mouth from microbes doing their work in the mouth. I really don't know if I have gained anything from this habit. I just figured that I could use a little extra if there was any. The food would scrap it off the teeth and tissues and become part of the meal.

This was actually suggested by some vegetarian folks at an evening food preparation meeting associated with the SDA church.

Mislu Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Powerlifter,
> You said it exactly. I was hesitating to suggest
> parasites, as I saw a program about creepy things
> like that. I suppose that is one possible way, but
> for the most part parasites subtract well being,
> not add to it.
>
> I started a habit of eating my first meal and
> brushing my teeth afterwards. Most people I think
> brush their teeth the first thing. But I had heard
> of the possibility that one has b12 in their mouth
> from microbes doing their work in the mouth. I
> really don't know if I have gained anything from
> this habit. I just figured that I could use a
> little extra if there was any. The food would
> scrap it off the teeth and tissues and become part
> of the meal.
>
> This was actually suggested by some vegetarian
> folks at an evening food preparation meeting
> associated with the SDA church.
IMO this is not a good practice, most of us are far from the ideal in health and can have bad bacteria in the mouth after a good sleep. My mother did this for a long time in her life and she is in @#$%& health.

Well, there is a case for owning an animalt, and ingesting the bateria that produces B12 from them. But through the feet??? I don't reckon B12 or the bacteria would be small enough to make it through our skin. If our skin would, then we would be in big trouble.......

Just abit about the teeth, at a psych lecture, the guy said that just brushing our teeth will add 6yrs to our life. I should've asked him how come???

rzman10001
What sources do you have for this idea? I know a lot of people are paranoid about microbes, but they are already in your mouth, why would it be anymore dangerous to swallow them? The stomach, if healthy is a barrier for bacteria. Saliva in the mouth reduces pathological bacteria.

I haven't had any problem with this at all. I know people in very poor health that are very paranoid about bacteria, and wouldn't dream of eating without brushing, flossing and using mouthwash. One in particular is not only paranoid of the bacteria, but just finds the taste in the mouth disagreeable before eating.

I guess my immediate reaction is if Cousins is researching it, fine. Let him publish his results in a peer reviewed journal and I will take note. Until then, supplements and Red Star nutritional yeast.

red star nutritional yeast for b 12
oh
tell me more

la_veronique, red star nutritional yeast is fortified with cyanocobalamin.

There are b12 patches, I suppose that if you placed one on your foot it would work, but the skin is thicker so might not be as good. There are nasal applications.