Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
A coroner has ruled that a woman’s suicide could be directly linked to ‘delusions’ caused by her vegan diet, due to a critical lack of a specific vitamin that is mostly found in animal products.
A Cambridgeshire coroner concluded that a university student’s mental state may have been severely affected by a nutritional deficiency associated with her diet.
The inquest heard that vegan diets remove many common sources of vitamin B12—an essential nutrient found largely in animal-derived foods. For people who eat meat and other animal products, a B12 deficiency is less common and can sometimes point to other underlying health issues.
To avoid becoming deficient, many vegans take B12 supplements. In this case, Swansea University student Georgina Owen had reportedly stopped supplementing in the period before her death in 2019.
Owen, who was 21, began eating vegan in 2016. The court heard this decision was driven by concerns about the environment and anxiety about climate change, ‘stemming from her environmental concerns’.
However, she died in September 2019. Her family described her as ‘vibrant, [and] full of enthusiasm’, but said they had noticed she had stopped taking her B12 supplements around a month before her death.
Vitamin B12 is most commonly obtained from meat, dairy, eggs, and shellfish, and plays a key role in red blood cell production and DNA synthesis.
Deficiency is often linked to anaemia and neurological symptoms such as tingling sensations in the hands or feet, as well as ataxia (problems with balance and coordination). The inquest also examined evidence that low B12 can sometimes affect mental functioning.
Owen told relatives she had started using a B12 spray purchased online from Canada, but a post-mortem examination still found she was deficient, according to the Daily Mail.
Coroner Elizabeth Gray noted signs of ‘unusually erratic behaviour’ before Owen’s death, and the court heard her writing suggested a ‘deterioration’ in her mental health that was considered alongside her vitamin levels.
Coroner Gray said: “Miss Owen’s family reported that in the recent period before her death she had [been] dwelling on the state of the world and her place in it.
“Miss Owen was meditating frequently, and that she had reported to her family a recent meditation event where she had experienced an out of body experience which she had found to be very distressing.”
In response to the changes they were seeing, Owen’s family arranged emotional support. The inquest heard that she was expected to return to university soon and had also been making plans for the weekend, including going surfing.
On September 19, she was found at home having asphyxiated. Paramedics administered CPR and were able to resuscitate her, but she died in hospital two days later.
During the inquest, three experts considered whether a B12 deficiency could have contributed to the significant change in her mental health, which was described in court as psychosis. Blood test evidence presented to the court indicated she had low levels of the vitamin.
The hearing was told Owen had displayed ‘vague signs of cognitive impairment, anxiety, difficulty with simple decision-making and fatigue’, consistent with what was described as a developing psychiatric condition that ultimately led to ‘delusional beliefs.’
Coroner Gray delivered a narrative conclusion, stating that, ‘on the balance of probabilities suffering delusional beliefs brought about by a Vitamin B12 deficiency developed as a direct result of her vegan diet.’
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.