Vitamin B12 and D in Egg Yolks

mballinger · Post by **mballinger** » Wed 06 Dec 2006 16:50

I posted this same item under "Beginner's Issues" ... but then realized pershaps this subtopic may be a better place for it --

I'd like to know if 3 egg yolks a day will supply adequate vitamin B12 and vitamin D for a woman (5'9", 120-125 lbs.). I plan to be using egg yolks only (no raw fish). When I look on nutritional sites, the amounts of B12 and D in 3 egg yolks total maybe 1/3 of the RDA, if that. I don't get much sun exposure, especially this time of year. I tried lemon-flavored cod liver oil for a while, but I don't have my gall bladder, and I seem to burp for a while after taking it, and even though I can get it down, it really disgusts me. I'm vegan by nature and don't want to consume any part of a dead fish. I can deal with egg yolks since I don't feel anything has been murdered since the baby chicken has not even formed yet. So is 3 egg yolks a day going to provide me enough b12 and vitamin D if I am taking no other form of supplementation?

Also, I periodically go through phases of taking bee pollen, and I understand bee pollen has traces of B12 and vitamin D as well, but I don't know if it is significant enough to make a difference.

Thanks!

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Wed 06 Dec 2006 17:11

mballinger wrote:I'd like to know if 3 egg yolks a day will supply adequate vitamin B12 and vitamin D for a woman (5'9", 120-125 lbs.). I plan to be using egg yolks only (no raw fish). When I look on nutritional sites, the amounts of B12 and D in 3 egg yolks total maybe 1/3 of the RDA, if that. I don't get much sun exposure, especially this time of year.

The amount of B12 is enough, as we need only traces; humans can perfectly survive on very little B12.
The amount of vitamin D is not enough, since you dont get much sun exposure. Therefore, I would advice you to eat 5 or 6 egg yolks a day.

Also, I periodically go through phases of taking bee pollen, and I understand bee pollen has traces of B12 and vitamin D as well, but I don't know if it is significant enough to make a difference.

No, thats insignificant.

I can deal with egg yolks since I don't feel anything has been murdered since the baby chicken has not even formed yet

And never will, as those eggs have been formed in the absence of a rooster; no fertilization took place.

mballinger · Post by **mballinger** » Wed 06 Dec 2006 17:29

RRM wrote:The amount of vitamin D is not enough, since you dont get much sun exposure. Therefore, I would advice you to eat 5 or 6 egg yolks a day.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I can deal with 6 egg yolks a day, 3 in the morning, 3 in the evening, mixed in grapefruit juice. I don't even taste them that way. They actually make the juice taste better, less tart. Will consuming 3 egg yolks in juice before I go to bed affect the quality of my sleep? I get home from work late and have just an hour or two before I go to bed.

Another question I have is regarding EFAs. Will the 6 egg yolks, a few nuts (1 or 2 oz.), and an avocado a day, plus 2-3 tblsps. of olive oil give me all the EFAs I need in the correct proportions? I was considering taking ground flax seeds but don't really like them, and also read somewhere that raw flax seed have certain toxic substances in them. I would rather eat tasty nuts. Since I'm not consuming fish or fish oil and no flax seeds, will I be getting the right amounts/proportions of omega 3:6? I know walnuts are good omega 3, but I would only want to eat a very small amount (maybe 2 or 3) walnuts in a day.

mballinger · Post by **mballinger** » Wed 06 Dec 2006 18:14

I suppose I could consume my 6 egg yolks all at once in the morning with my grapefruit juice. Is it ok to consume this many all at once? This might actually work out better for me than splitting up my "daily allowance" between the morning and the evening.

Post by **Oscar** » Thu 07 Dec 2006 02:20

It doesn't really matter whether you consume your yolks together or separately. It all depends on your preference. Personally I'd find 6 yolks at once too much (especially since I only eat 4), but for you it might not be a problem. The only thing to consider would be the level of physical activity right after (about an hour or so) you consume them. The less active you are, the better. Before going to bed would thus be fine, as I don't think there are any negative effects on sleep.

I'll let RRM answer the omega fatty acid question.

YouTube · Post by **RRM** » Thu 07 Dec 2006 20:53

mballinger wrote:Will consuming 3 egg yolks in juice before I go to bed affect the quality of my sleep?

3, 6 or 10 yolks, the effect will probably be positive; egg yolks are very good for making you fall asleep.

Another question I have is regarding EFAs. Will the 6 egg yolks, a few nuts (1 or 2 oz.), and an avocado a day, plus 2-3 tblsps. of olive oil give me all the EFAs I need in the correct proportions?

Here are the sources of EFA's:

Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA): Particularly walnuts, and wild salmon, Bluefin tuna, Atlantic mackerel and egg yolks, but also herring, hazelnuts and fruits such as strawberries, muskmelon, cucumber, banana, orange, mango, grapes and pear are rich in linolenic acid.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA): Herring, Bluefin tuna, Atlantic mackerel, both wild and farmed salmon, and also Spanish mackerel.

Docosapentaenoic acid (DPA): Salmon, Bluefin tuna, Atlantic mackerel, herring, Spanish mackerel and egg yolk.

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA): Bluefin tuna, salmon, Atlantic and Spanish mackerel, herring and egg yolk.

ALA can to some extend get metabolized to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), please check out this interesting thread:
http://www.acneboard.com/AcneQandA/Forum5/000047.html , also regarding ground flax seeds.
Olive oil contains only 1% ALA, so that if you dont consume fish, you shouldnt consume too much olive oil. Fruits are a much better source, as they relatively contain much more ALA, particularly strawberries, muskmelon, cucumber, banana, orange, mango, grapes and pear.
Check out this page: http://www.3.waisays.com/omega3.htm

mballinger wrote:I suppose I could consume my 6 egg yolks all at once in the morning with my grapefruit juice. Is it ok to consume this many all at once?

Its perfectly fine. 10 egg yolks would be perfect too. Your body will tell you what it prefers. Its just that men are less good in taking egg yolks than women (women need more cholesterol).