Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Hello,

I plan on starting a starch based diet tomorrow, I am concerned about Iodine and B12 deficiency.

I want to buy Corn, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice, Blueberries, Dark Leafy Greens.

My plan is to just boil these foods strictly, my drink will be water only.

Also I would like to use salt but don’t know if I should use Iodized Salt or Kosher, B12 is also a concern for me and am not sure if I should get a B12 supplement or possibly a B-Complex.

I would like to avoid a B-Complex that has added Biotin, as supplemented Biotin causes me Cystic Acne.

Is there anything I should know before trying said regiment, also I would rather not take multi-vitamins of any kind.

Will I become Iodine or B12/B Vitamin deficient on said regiment.

Regards
Jon

Welcome and enjoy the journey.

The How To Begin links in this section covers everything you might need to know. Plenty to read, view and listen to.

For detailed B12 info check out:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2017nl/apr/b12.htm
For iodine along with other vitamins and minerals:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2003nl/aug/030800puvitaminsandminerals.htm
For salt see:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/aug/salt.htm

But the bottom line is don't worry about micronutrients, and take an occasional B12 just to be safe.

All of Dr McDougall's detailed newsletter articles are available by search. (Site search from home page, not forum post search here in the forum.)

I was shopping for a B12 supplement and the only ones I could find contained 83,333% and 44,500% of the MDA.
Is that normal?
Why would anyone need or want to take that large of a dose?

An extremely low percentage of the vitamin is absorbed, hence the ridiculous amounts. I just switched to Nature Made 500 mcg tablets because they are USP certified (as you may know, supplements are not regulated and may not actually contain what they state). Nature Made brand is widely available, affordable and third-party verified.