Riboflavin is a quiet one: no dramatic deficiency story, just the fact that dairy and eggs carry a lot of it. Take those away and the NIH puts vegans on the watch list, which fortified foods and a few staples handle.
Vegan Brief·Evidence last reviewed July 15, 2026
This is a summary of the cited evidence, not medical advice.
Riboflavin, vitamin B2, powers the enzymes that turn food into energy. It rarely makes headlines because outright deficiency is uncommon in rich countries. The reason it matters for vegans is simply where it concentrates, per the NIH fact sheet, a public-domain US government document.
Primary source 01 / 03
Foods that are particularly rich in riboflavin include eggs, organ meats (kidneys and liver), lean meats, and milk
Milk in particular is one of the biggest contributors to riboflavin intake in the typical American diet. Remove dairy and eggs and you remove a large slice of most people's supply, which is why the fact sheet names vegans directly.
Primary source 02 / 03
Vegans and those who consume little milk in developed countries are also at risk of riboflavin inadequacy
Being on the watch list is not the same as being deficient, and the fix is ordinary food. Fortified breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast, almonds, soy products, mushrooms, spinach and other leafy greens all carry riboflavin, and fortified plant milks put it back into the glass. The group the fact sheet singles out for extra care is vegan athletes, whose training raises the need.
Primary source 03 / 03
vegetarian athletes are at risk of riboflavin deficiency because of their increased need for this nutrient and because some vegetarians exclude all animal products
The practical read: a vegan eating fortified cereals or nutritional yeast, almonds, soy and greens is well covered, and a vegan training hard should make sure at least one solid riboflavin source shows up daily.
Vitamin B12 on a vegan dietB12 is the one nutrient where both cited sources speak bluntly about what plant foods do not supply.
Iodine on a vegan dietIodine is the quiet one: no drama, easy to miss, easy to fix. Iodized salt or a measured amount of seaweed does it, and kelp can overshoot hard.
Zinc on a vegan dietPlants have zinc; phytates make you absorb less of it. The fix is more intake plus a few kitchen tricks that free the zinc up.
Is Biotin (vitamin B7) vegan?Is it vegan? · Biotin is the vitamin behind a hundred hair-and-nail gummies. It is made synthetically and is found in plants, so the vitamin is fine; the gummy around it is the thing to read.
Frequently asked
Do vegans get enough riboflavin?
They can, but it takes a little attention. Milk and eggs are among the top riboflavin sources, so the NIH lists vegans, and people who drink little milk, among those at risk of low intake. Fortified cereals and plant milks, nutritional yeast, almonds, soy products and leafy greens supply riboflavin on a plant diet.
What plant foods are high in riboflavin?
Fortified breakfast cereals and fortified plant milks are the most concentrated, followed by nutritional yeast, almonds, soy products such as tempeh, mushrooms and dark leafy greens like spinach. Building one or two of these into the day covers the requirement for most people.
The primary sources
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