Vitamins for vegans - what to look out for!

 Vegans have to contend with a number of prejudices. Some say that they don't get enough nutrients and are therefore constantly ill. In our blog post about a plant-based dietwe have already discussed the fact that going vegan has a number of health benefits. However, to prevent a micronutrient deficiency, you should still consider which vitamins are important for vegans.

Table of contents:

1. Why do you need vitamins for vegans?
2. What vitamins are there for vegans?
3. Conclusion: Vitamins for vegans - this is to be considered!

Why do you need vitamins for vegans?

Not all vitamins are contained in every food. Different micronutrients are found in meat and fish than in fruit, vegetables or cereal products. The more foods are avoided, the greater the likelihood of a vitamin deficiency. A balanced and varied diet is therefore particularly important in a plant-based lifestyle. In general, a plant-based diet is associated with an above-average supply of vitamins. However, some micronutrients are present in such small quantities in food that supplementation is almost always necessary with a vegan diet to avoid deficiency symptoms.

What vitamins are there for vegans?

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) is mainly found in liver, kidney, cheese, fish and dairy products. If you avoid these, supplementation is recommended. In addition, a large proportion of the riboflavin found in plants is lost during cooking if the cooking water is not used.

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is only found in relevant quantities in meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. It is one of the absolute must-haves of a vegan diet, as a deficiency can have serious consequences such as neurological damage. For people who supplement vitamin B12 separately or want to make sure that their stores are full, we have recently added our new vitamin B12 lozenges to our range. You can read more about why vitamin B12 is important and why our product can even help people who lack the transport protein that is important for B12 absorption (intrinsic factor) here.

Strictly speaking, vitamin D (cholecalciferol) is not a vitamin at all, as it can be produced by the body itself. Sufficient exposure to sunlight is essential for this. However, this does not appear to be sufficient in Germany as, according to the Robert Koch Institute, almost 60% of adults in Germany do not have an optimal vitamin D supply. The amounts of vitamin D that can be obtained from foods such as fish, milk and eggs are also generally negligible. It is therefore not only a vitamin for vegans, but should also be taken regularly by other people.

Conclusion: Vitamins for vegans - this should be noted!

To summarise, it can be difficult for vegans to get enough vitamins. To ensure that you can be sure of getting all the critical nutrients even with an otherwise balanced and healthy diet, we have developed our Vegan Essentials. In addition to the important vitamins B2, B12 and vitamin D, they also contain calcium, iron and zinc, as these micronutrients are often lacking in a plant-based diet.

For more information on our vitamins for vegans, we recommend reading our article on the ingredients of our Vegan Essentials.

Sources:

• https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/weitere-publikationen/faqs/riboflavin/
• https://www.dge.de/fileadmin/public/doc/ws/faq/FAQs-VitaminB12.pdf
• https://www.ernaehrungs-umschau.de/fileadmin/Ernaehrungs-Umschau/pdfs/pdf_2016/04_16/EU04_2016_M220-M230_korr.pdf
• https://www.dge.de/wissenschaft/weitere-publikationen/faqs/vitamin-d/