One common concern about vegan diets is whether they provide your body with all the vitamins and minerals it needs.
Many claim that a whole-food, plant-based diet easily meets all the daily nutrient requirements.
Some even encourage vegans to avoid all supplements.
Despite being well intended, this type of advice can do more harm than good.
Here are 7 nutrients that you may need to supplement with while on a vegan diet.
1. Vitamin B12
Foods often touted to be rich in vitamin B12 include unwashed organic produce, mushrooms grown in B12-rich soils, nori, spirulina, chlorella, and nutritional yeast.
Some believe vegans who eat enough of the right plant foods don’t need to worry about vitamin B12 deficiency.
However, there is no scientific basis for this belief.
Several studies show that while anyone can have low vitamin B12 levels, vegetarians and vegans have a higher risk of deficiency. This seems especially true for vegans who are not taking any supplements (1Trusted Source, 2Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).
Vitamin B12 is important for many bodily processes, including protein metabolism and the formation of oxygen-transporting red blood cells. It also plays a crucial role in the health of your nervous system (4Trusted Source).
Too little vitamin B12 can lead to anemia and nervous system damage, as well as infertility and bone and heart disease (4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).
The daily recommended intake is 2.4 mcg per day for adults, 2.6 mcg per day during pregnancy, and 2.8 mcg per day while breastfeeding.
The only scientifically proven way for vegans to reach these levels is by consuming B12-fortified foods or taking a vitamin B12 supplement. B12-fortified foods commonly include plant milks, soy products, breakfast cereals, and nutritional yeast.
Some plant foods seem to contain a form of vitamin B12 naturally, but there’s still debate on whether this form is active in humans (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).
What’s more, no scientific evidence supports depending on unwashed organic produce as a reliable source of vitamin B12.
Nutritional yeast only contains vitamin B12 when fortified. However, vitamin B12 is light-sensitive and may degrade if bought from or stored in clear plastic bags (14).
It’s important to keep in mind that vitamin B12 is best absorbed in small doses. Thus, the less frequently you ingest vitamin B12, the more you need to take.
This is why vegans who are unable to reach the recommended daily intake using fortified foods should opt for a daily supplement providing 25–100 mcg of cyanocobalamin or a weekly dosage of 2,000 mcg.
Those wary of taking supplements may find it reassuring to get their blood levels of vitamin B12 checked before taking any.
Finally, your ability to absorb vitamin B12 decreases with age. Therefore, the Institute of Medicine recommends that everyone over the age of 51 — vegan or not — consider fortified foods or a vitamin B12 supplement (16Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
It’s extremely important that all vegans get enough vitamin B12. The only reliable way to achieve this is by eating fortified foods or taking a vitamin B12 supplement.
2. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps enhance the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from your gut (17Trusted Source).
This vitamin also influences many other bodily processes, including immune function, mood, memory, and muscle recovery (18, 19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source, 21Trusted Source).
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin D for children and adults is 600 IU (15 mcg) per day. The elderly, as well as pregnant or lactating women, should aim for 800 IU (20 mcg) per day (22).
That said, some evidence suggests that your daily requirements are far greater than the current RDA (23Trusted Source).
Unfortunately, very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and foods fortified with vitamin D are often considered insufficient to satisfy the daily requirements.
This could partly explain the worldwide reports of vitamin D deficiency among vegans and omnivores alike (19Trusted Source, 24Trusted Source).
Aside from the small amount you get from your diet, vitamin D can be made from sun exposure. Most people likely make enough vitamin D by spending 15 minutes in the midday sun when the sun is strong — as long as they don’t use any sunscreen and expose most of their skin.
However, the elderly, people with darker skin, those who live in northern latitudes or colder climates, and those who spend little time outdoors may be unable to produce enough (25Trusted Source, 26Trusted Source, 27Trusted Source).
Furthermore, because of the known negative effects of excess UV radiation, many dermatologists warn against using sun exposure to boost vitamin D levels (28Trusted Source).
The best way vegans can ensure they’re getting enough vitamin D is to have their blood levels tested. Those unable to get enough from fortified foods and sunshine should consider taking a daily vitamin D2 or vegan vitamin D3 supplement.
Although vitamin D2 is probably adequate for most people, some studies suggest that vitamin D3 is more effective at raising blood levels of vitamin D (29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source).
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