Vegan Diets Cause Delusions?

Added: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Whenever I see headlines like this, I wait. I just wait for a more reputable source to chime in, usually with more information, more nuance sources like the BBC. Well, it turns out the BBC already did weigh in with an even more inflammatory headline. Like the Telegraph is more reserved. What? This is such an awful situation. And I I want to be really careful here. You know, she was a real person. Her parents, I can't even imagine. and I'm sure they're devastated. Georgina Owen was 21 years old and vegan for several years. She supplemented with B12, but not consistently. Her parents say she didn't take it for at least 6 months in 2019.

[00:00:42]She was taking an organic one from Canada at some point. It's not clear when or for how long. Apparently, she was taking one milligram uh each day.

[00:00:52]So, I'm guessing it was methylcobalamin rather than cyanocobalamin. Usually that's the daily recommendation 1 milligram or 1,000 micrograms. The problem is we don't have nearly as much evidence on dosage for methylcobalamin like we do for cyanocobalamin.

[00:01:08]Registered dietitian Jack Norris generally does not recommend methyl for this reason. It's just safer to stick with the one with lots of evidence. Plus these organic methylcobalamin formulations are typically from smaller brands that are going to be more likely to have poor quality control. But again, it's not clear when or for how long.

[00:01:25]Georgina was taking any B12. You know, it's more likely she just was not taking it consistently and ended up with a deficiency. Blood tests did confirm B12 deficiency. And the corner ruled that on the balance of probabilities, Owen was suffering delusional beliefs brought about by a vitamin B12 deficiency developed as a direct result of her vegan diet. This is a little strange to me. B12 deficiency has been linked to psychosis. You can find several case reports on it, but it's rare and when it happens, it's usually in someone older.

[00:01:58]What about schizophrenia? That can develop over months where it can happen very suddenly. I had a friend growing up, her brother was just a normal teen and then he was hearing voices and like obsessing over the Bible and burning his corn cities because they were satanic.

[00:02:16]Maybe there's a lot more here that makes the B12 deficiency more likely the cause. We don't know which is the problem with reporting like this, reporting on very serious topics with very little information. This is something I expect from the Independent Sun, all these sources. Um, I expect better from the BBC. Is this just what Hank Green was talking about in a recent video? You know, good content takes longer to make, costs more money.

[00:02:43]The BBC is just copy and pasting from another source. It's quick, it's easy, and I'm sure it gets clicks.

[00:02:50]Interestingly, none of the cases of B12 deficiency induced psychosis that I found had anything to do with veganism.

[00:02:56]None of the individuals were even vegetarian. Most were elderly. As I said, there was one teen. B12 deficiency is not uncommon among the elderly. Also, people with gastrointestinal disorders like Crohn's. That's not to say like other groups get B12 deficiency. Why are we talking about veganism? Well, because she was vegan. But also like if she were elderly, would anyone even consider B12 deficiency? I mean, maybe a lot of patients have missed a B12 deficiency diagnosis because they weren't vegan.

[00:03:26]You know, no one thought to look there.

[00:03:28]I'm sure a lot of vegans are really upset by this reporting and it's just, you know, making vegan veganism look bad. And yeah, it is. But this is what happened. This is what happened. You know, we do need reporting on this.

[00:03:39]Again, I think it's important to be a lot more careful and to wait until there's more information at the very least. And I would say the same for any other diet. You know, if the headline were carnivore woman eating a carnivore diet, you know, caused delusions. Like I would say the same thing like really the truth is medical professionals are people too. And there are just so many stories of doctors hearing that a patient is vegan or vegetarian and focusing on that and saying really stupid assuming any problem is related to the diet. Again, I'm not saying that's what's going on in this case, but I can understand vegans being upset and kind of assuming that's what's going on because that's many of our experiences. If people could blame veganism for literally anything, like they will. If people could blame rising grocery costs on veganism, they would.

[00:04:26]Regardless of the cause of Georgina's death, take your B12. You probably won't end up suffering delusions if you don't, but at some point your stores will be depleted and you will suffer for it.

[00:04:38]Extreme fatigue, memory loss, nerve damage that can be permanent if it's not addressed quickly. And if you have a teen who is vegan, please make sure they are taking their B12. I know easier said than done. Teens think they're invincible, but um yeah, it's really important. And if you think that they aren't, you know, maybe schedule an appointment and get their levels checked. So very sad, but I am happy to make another video on B12 because almost every time I do, there's someone saying that. Oh yeah, thank you. Thank you for reminding me. So um yeah, it really is important delusions or not. And uh yeah, thank you so much for watching everybody. And of course, thank you so much to my supporters here on YouTube and at patreon.com/unnatural vegan. And I will have a new video