Milk's Vitamin B12 Is Better Absorbed Than Pills
Bioavailability of vitamin B12 in cows' milk
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Synthetic B12 in a plant-based meal showed no measurable absorption—zero net flux over 24 hours.
Most people assume supplements work the same in meals as they do on their own, and many plant-based products are fortified with cyanocobalamin. This suggests it may not be bioavailable in food matrices.
Practical Takeaways
If you rely on B12 from supplements, consider pairing them with meals carefully—or prioritize animal-based sources like dairy if you consume them.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Synthetic B12 in a plant-based meal showed no measurable absorption—zero net flux over 24 hours.
Most people assume supplements work the same in meals as they do on their own, and many plant-based products are fortified with cyanocobalamin. This suggests it may not be bioavailable in food matrices.
Practical Takeaways
If you rely on B12 from supplements, consider pairing them with meals carefully—or prioritize animal-based sources like dairy if you consume them.
Publication
Journal
British Journal of Nutrition
Year
2011
Authors
J. Matte, F. Guay, C. Girard
Related Content
Claims (5)
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.
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.
When pigs eat a plant-based meal with synthetic B12 (cyanocobalamin), their bodies don't seem to absorb it — there's no measurable amount showing up in their gut system compared to a meal without it.
Your body needs certain important nutrients like B12, taurine, and omega-3s, and these are mostly or only found in animal foods like meat and fish — you can't really get them from plants.
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.