Giving B12 shots to milk-making cows doesn’t make the milk any better at delivering B12 to pigs’ guts — the pigs absorb about the same amount either way.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (0)

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No supporting evidence found

Contradicting (1)

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Community contributions welcome

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Bioavailability of vitamin B12 in cows' milk

Randomized Controlled Trial

Animal

2012 Jan

The study tested whether B12-enriched milk (from injected cows) gives pigs more B12 than regular milk, and found no difference — which matches the claim.

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Bioavailability of vitamin B12 in cows' milk

Score: 18

DOI: 10.1017/S0007114511002364

Similar Assertions

Pigs absorb way more vitamin B12 from cow's milk than from a lab-made version, and they don’t absorb the lab version at all — their bodies only seem to take in the natural kind.

18

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87%

In pigs, heating or filtering cow's milk doesn't change how well vitamin B12 gets absorbed in the gut — it's the same whether the milk is raw, pasteurized, or microfiltered.

18

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84%

When you eat fish, sheep meat, or chicken, your body absorbs vitamin B12 from them at different rates—fish gives you about 42% of the B12, sheep meat gives you 56% to 89%, and chicken gives you 61% to 66%, so not all meats give you the same amount of this important vitamin.

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73%