As more and more people are switching to a vegan diet, the range of vegan supplements and vitamins continues to grow.
Since vegans cannot eat certain natural sources of vitamins and minerals, many rely on multivitamins to get their essential nutrients. It’s especially difficult for vegan athletes to find multivitamins or supplements that support a vegan diet.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the best vegan multivitamins for athletes, what to look for in a vegan multivitamin, and how much should you take.
A varied, wholesome vegan diet provides the human body with almost all the essential nutrients you need to stay in good health, though “almost” is the keyword.
This isn’t a criticism of the vegan lifestyle, but rather modern farming and food processing methods that make it harder for everyone – not just vegans – to get all the nutrients we need from diet alone.
Therefore, we should try to supplement our diet with the essential vitamins and minerals that we cannot find in our food to stay in good health.
However, many health supplements contain animal products that aren’t suitable for vegan diets (such as fish oil-based omega-3 supplements), so how can you stay in tip-top shape on a vegan diet and what is the best vegan multivitamin on the market?
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Is There a Vegan Multivitamin for Atheles?
Finding the best multivitamin to support an athletic lifestyle can be tough at the best of times, never mind when you’re restricted by a vegan diet.
While it might seem easy (tons of vitamins like vitamin C come from plants after all), many multivitamins use animal by-products such as gelatine in their production, which is a big no-no for vegans.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of supplement brands that produce 100% vegan multivitamins for all the plant-based athletes out there.
While there are too many to easily list here, there are dozens of multivitamins on the market, all striving to be recognized as the best vegan multivitamins.
5 Best Vegan Multivitamins for Athletes
Because it’s very difficult to get your recommended daily intake of essential nutrients through a plant-based diet alone, many vegans supplement their diets with multivitamins and enriched foods.
Not everyone can afford to eat kombu seaweed every day to get their iodine levels up and the best way to lead a healthy vegan lifestyle is with plenty of exercise, a balanced diet, and the right multivitamins for your nutritional needs, which is why we’ve suggested our favourites below:
1. Igennus Calcium & Magnesium Multivitamin
Formulated specifically for vegan diets, this product is packed full of the vitamins and minerals that vegans commonly lack, as all the best vegan multivitamins should.
With a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium, these vegan capsules support bone health and provide lots of the vitamins and minerals you may struggle to get on a plant-based diet.
2. Deva Vegan Vitamins Daily Multivitamin & Mineral Supplement
This offering from a well-known supplement brand is certified by the Vegan Society and is (in our opinion) one of the best offerings for women thanks to its high iron content.
Each pill contains 18mg of iron, which meets the RDA for women though it may cause indigestion in men, as they require just 8mg a day.
3. Garden of Life mykind Pill Multivitamin
These multivitamins come in men’s and women’s versions to better suit your dietary needs, though both versions contain your daily requirements of 15 vitamins and minerals.
Made with organic ingredients – not just synthesized sources of vitamins – and full of almost all the nutrients you struggle to get on a plant-based diet, these are some of the best supplements for vegan athletes on the market.
4. Veg1 Tablets
Formulated specifically for vegan diets, this product is packed full of the vitamins and minerals that vegans commonly lack, as all the best vegan multivitamins should.
With a 2:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium, these vegan capsules support bone health and provide lots of the vitamins and minerals you may struggle to get on a plant-based diet.
5. NATURELO One Daily Multivitamin
Ideal as a ‘top-up’ multivitamin for vegans who eat well but may not get their full recommended daily intake through food and drink alone, this multivitamin is a great addition to any plant-based diet.
Although the levels of vitamins are lower than the other items on this list, this is a great way to avoid the chance of taking too much and all the ingredients are whole foods, making it a worthy addition to this list of our best vegan multivitamins.
What to Look for in Vegan Multivitamins?
While we recommend that you consult your doctor before self-medicating with vitamins, there are some vitamins and minerals that cannot be obtained from plant food alone, making it essential for vegans to supplement with these nutrients.
Experts have recognized that vegan diets are likely to be lacking in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and iodine, among others, so you should look for these nutrients in vegan multivitamins:
Vitamin B12
Essential for red blood cell formation and nerve function, Vitamin B12 (or cobalamin) is found in meat and dairy products, as well as some types of mushrooms.
Vegetarians and vegans are at a higher risk of vitamin B12 deficiencies, so the best vegan multivitamins commonly feature this vitamin, as it is difficult to get from plant-based dietary sources.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that contributes to healthy bones and a wide array of biological processes, and it is naturally produced by your body when exposed to sunlight.
However, vitamin D deficiencies affect a large portion of the US population, and since the best food sources are oily fish, vegetarians and vegans may struggle to replenish their vitamin D levels naturally.
Related: If you’re concerned about your vitamin D levels, why not read our blog about how to diagnose a potential vitamin D deficiency and restore your levels today?
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are well-known for their health benefits – from promoting cognitive function to helping prevent inflammatory diseases – but they are mainly found in animal products.
Since fatty fish and cod liver oil are off the table, vegans have significantly lower levels of omega-3s than omnivores and should supplement with the best vegan multivitamins or vegan omega-3 supplements like algae oil.
Iron
Iron is an essential mineral used to make new blood cells, metabolize energy, and carry oxygen in the blood, though the most easily absorbed form – heme iron – is only found in animal products.
Iron deficiencies caused by insufficient dietary intake are rare, though people on plant-based diets should try to eat plenty of iron-rich foods like beans, peas, fruits, and nuts, as well as iron-fortified cereals to meet their recommended daily amounts.
Calcium
Necessary for healthy bones, teeth, and muscle function, calcium is an essential mineral that can be found in a wide range of vegan food products like seeds, nuts, and legumes, as well as dairy.
Because vegans are more at risk of calcium deficiencies and bone fractures than omnivores, all vegans are encouraged to consume the recommended 525mg of calcium per day, which can be achieved by taking the best vegan multivitamins with added calcium.
Zinc
Zinc is crucial for immune function, repairing your cells, and metabolising energy, but your body cannot store zinc which means you need to eat enough each day to maintain healthy levels.
The RDA for zinc is set at 8-13mg for adults (with pregnant or lactating women advised to take 11-13mg), though very few plant foods contain high levels of zinc, meaning that vegans should eat plenty of zinc-rich whole grains, tofu, legumes, etc. and consider supplementing with zinc.
Iodine
Also called iodide, iodine is an essential mineral that supports healthy thyroid function, which is essential for regulating hormones, controlling your metabolism, fetal development, and more.
While there are several plant-based sources of iodine – like seaweed – vegans tend to have lower blood iodine levels than vegetarians or omnivores, meaning they should supplement their intake with iodized salt or the best vegan multivitamins that contain iodine.
Can Vegans Just Take a Multivitamin?
Whether you’ve recently adopted a vegan diet or have been avoiding cheese since Chuck Norris was on TV, concerns about getting enough vitamins and minerals through your diet are nothing new.
Even though vegetarians and omnivores will happily claim that you can’t get your recommended levels of essential nutrients on a vegan diet alone, reaching for a multivitamin might not be the quick fix you think it is…
Despite their cure-all reputation, multivitamins are the definition of “jack of all trades, master of none,” because they contain lots of vitamins, but rarely the right ones for your specific health needs.
The best vegan multivitamins should be tailored to the unique dietary requirements of the vegan diet to help you get all the essential nutrients you need, but most aren’t unfortunately.
Also Read: How much fish oil should I take bodybuilding?
How Many Multivitamins Should a Vegan Take Daily?
As with any question on nutrition and supplements, there is no one-size-fits-all answer, and you should always tailor your supplement use to your specific needs.
While vegans are more likely to be deficient in nutrients like calcium, generic multivitamins won’t help to address these issues, so you should try to find supplements for your specific vitamin deficiencies if any.
However, if you can find multivitamins tailored to vegan dietary needs (one rich in vitamin B12, zinc, and omega-3s for example), then that could be an excellent way to maintain healthy levels of your essential nutrients.
And if you can find some of the best vegan multivitamins with all the essential nutrients that are hard to find in a plant-based diet, recommended doses for multivitamins tend to only be one or two pills a day, so you won’t have to take too many pills anyway.
Conclusion
Unfortunately for all the vegans reading this, it is very difficult to reach your daily recommended intake of essential nutrients on a plant-based diet alone, so multivitamins and supplements are generally recommended.
This goes double for any vegan athlete, as rigorous exercise routines will strain your body and require lots of nutrients to recover.
While we firmly believe that the best way to stay healthy is with regular exercise and a balanced diet of whole foods, vegans may need to balance things out with a multivitamin or two as well.
Hopefully, this article helped to explain the different nutritional needs of vegans as well as include some good recommendations on the best vegan multivitamins for athletes as well as us regular folk.
