𝕽𝖔𝖉𝖓𝖊𝖞 𝕸. 𝕵𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖟, 𝕸𝕯

There is a post on LinkedIn by Mr. Manish Bhagwani which is interesting, but also misleading. He claims that the major reason why people in the Indian context have vitamin B12 deficiency is because of repeated antibiotic use which damages the bacterial population inside small intestine which does not fully recover. But there was a catch. Even though his family was vitamin B12 deficient, his daughter was not - even though she has also received antibiotics. The reason why she was not deficient was that, according to Mr. Manish, she played in the soil while he sat on the bench (for almost 25 years) and the soil bacteria replenished the damaged bacteria in the child that helped her regain vitamin B 12 levels. He goes one step further and claims that bacteria like Pseudomonas and Klebsiella are “good bacteria” that makes vitamin B 12 in our bodies. This is not just absurd; it feels like an episode from Desi Black Mirror. You really want to like it, but it is depressing because it is just unreal and damaging. Vitamin B12 is synthesized by certain bacteria and a group of single-cell microbes called the Archaea (that are different from bacteria, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archae…). Vitamin B12 is not synthesized by plants or animals, including humans. This means that vitamin B12 is not sufficiently produced inside humans by the bacteria inside small intestine even in healthy people. Vitamin B12 must be achieved from food sources rich in it. The micro-organism made vitamin B12 accumulate in animals and certain plant (like seaweed) and mushroom species which when humans consume, help maintain vitamin B12 levels. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article… Meats and milks of herbivorous ruminant animals are good sources of B12 for humans. Ruminants acquire the essential B12 through a symbiotic relationship with bacteria inside their body. Thus, humans also depend on B12-producing bacteria located in ruminant stomachs – not ours. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2921… This means that even if hypothetically, antibiotics destroyed our bacteria and all the bacteria came back after we played in the soil, it would still mean that we need to consume animal sources for vitamin B12 to replenish or acquire vitamin B12, because our gut bacteria are not capable of producing vitamin B12 in amounts needful for us. Edible plants and mushrooms rarely contain a considerable amount of B12, mainly due to concomitant bacteria in soil and/or their surfaces – but these sources are still highly deficient in vitamin B12. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2378… Now antibiotics use and effect on intestinal bacteria. It is true that antibiotics disrupt intestinal bacteria. But there is no proof that antibiotic courses repeated or taken in short courses over a lifetime result in vitamin B 12 deficiency. Because the stable and healthy gut bacteria return to its near normal baseline self approximately 1.5 months after last dose of antibiotic. nature.com/articles/s41564-0… What about playing in the soil and being in contact with soil to improve our gut health and bacterial population? The reference that Mr. Manish provides [mdpi.com/2076-2607/7/9/287?t…] is just an opinionated narrative review and nothing more. There is no conclusive evidence that playing in the soil makes a person’s gut health better or increases vitamin B12 levels. This is just extrapolated bluff. And what about Pseudomonas and Klebsiella that are the good guys helping us make vitamin B12? This is also false. Only Pseudomonas dentrificans can produce vitamin B12 and the main other bacteria involved are Rhodobacter and Thermotoga. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article… But beware. Pseudomonas includes many other species, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa a type of bacteria that is found commonly in the environment, like in soil and in water. Of the many different types of Pseudomonas, the one that most often causes infections in humans is called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause infections in the blood, lungs (pneumonia), or other parts of the body and some of them are highly resistant to antibiotics and cause sepsis and death in humans. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3170…& cdc.gov/hai/organisms/pseudo… Similarly, Klebsiella too, is one among the most dangerous group of severe infections causing bacteria among humans. Klebsiella pneumonia is a bacterial pathogen associated with large numbers of infection and death in the hospital and outside hospital setting. tinyurl.com/4knyaxhk Bottom line: 1. Vitamin B12 is not produced by bacteria inside human intestines 2. Humans have to consume vitamin B12 from animal sources/ use supplements to prevent deficiency 3. Antibiotics use does not lead to vitamin B12 deficiency 4. Playing in the soil does not replenish lost bacteria in human intestines 5. Playing in the soil does not improve vitamin B12 in humans 6. Playing in the soil, in at risk persons and unhygienic situations can lead to severe bacterial infections with Pseudomonas or Klebsiella group 7. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – so play you must, but not for vitamin B12. Again, the whole point is to listen to doctors. Mr. Manish is a biochemist from IIT Kharagpur.