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Deficiency concerns
I think this part is completely useless "Maintenance of a vegetarian diet can be challenging. While avoidance of animal products may support health and ethical concerns, dietary supplements may be needed to prevent nutritional deficiency if all such products are shunned, particularly for vitamin B12. "
The article is about vegetarianism right? Which is different from veganism. Eggs and milk contain plenty of those things (including high-quality protein and vitamin B12) that a vegan might be lacking.
Actually, I don't know why veganism is even mentioned under the umbrella of vegetarianism in the way it is.
I would reword the part about veganism to say "Vegetarianism is less extreme than veganism, which avoids all animal products, including those that don't involve any killing, because of ethical considerations over the treatment of farm animals"
And, when talking about the deficiencies, clearly state that "in the case of more restrictive forms, as veganism, deficiencies may occur [etc etc]"
So that it is crystal-clear that the average vegetarian, who eats everything except killed animals, is at no such risk.
The way it is written now, it gives a very distorted view which will unnecessarily instill fear. Shantimar (talk) 07:42, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that there should be no suggestion that Vitamin B12 deficiency is likely to occur on a vegetarian (as opposed to vegan) diet.
In theory you are correct because many dairy products have a good amount of B12 and the B12 in these products is more bioavailable than in other animal-source foods such as red meat. However, the B12 from animal-source foods is protein-bound. Supplements that contain B12 are in its free form, so they are often more easily absorbed. If you read the medical literature, Vitamin B12 deficiency is often reported amongst vegetarians. For example, a 2014 review found that "with few exceptions, the reviewed studies documented relatively high deficiency prevalence among vegetarians" [1].
Another review "the main finding of this review is that vegetarians develop B12 depletion or deficiency regardless of demographic characteristics, place of residency, age, or type of vegetarian diet" [2]. The same review notes that "Although B12 deficiency was once thought to be extremely rare except among strict vegetarians, it is now known that B12 deficiency is relatively common among people adhering to all types of vegetarian diets, including lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and other population subgroups, such as the elderly." [3]. Nobody knows the exact figure but around 40% of vegetarians are reported to be deficient in B12 [4]. The advice to be on the safe side is to take a b12 supplement. I would say the text on the article is largely accurate although the wording could be improved. Psychologist Guy (talk) 20:33, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
@Shantimar I strongly disagree with your proposed wording re. veganism. It's quite OR to use the term "extreme" for the vegetarian or vegan diets. Also, veganism is not necessarily driven by ethics, and where it is, it's not always because of animal farming.
Re. vitamin B, I would certainly get rid of dietary supplements may be needed, primarily because of WP:NOTGUIDE. However, the study linked by @Psychologist Guy cannot be dismissed in its entirety (even though it had its limitations, including a lack of comparable data for omnivors and a lack of a discussion on the scientific basis of the definition of B12 deficiency). — kashmīrīTALK 22:05, 24 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Vitamin B12 is needed for growth, repair and general health. It's only found naturally in animal products. If you regularly eat eggs or dairy products, you probably get enough. But if you only eat a small amount or avoid all animal products, it's important to have a reliable source of vitamin B12 in your diet.
which seems in line with what the article says. I would stress the "if" and get rid of the "dietary supplement" part, with similar reasons to what kashmiri said. Ffaffff (talk) 11:13, 29 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]
level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
