Vitamins
Vitamins are organic compounds required in small amounts for normal growth and functioning of a body. They can be naturally found in food, produced by an organism itself under certain conditions (for example, vitamin D is produced when skin is exposed to sun), or artificially synthesized.
It is generally agreed that a balanced vegan diet can provide all but two vitamins in sufficient quantities. These two vitamins that need more attention are:
- Vitamin B12 - so far there is no data that any vegan food can be a reliable source of this vitamin, and the use of supplements is recommended;
- Vitamin D - should be a concern for those who do not spend much time outside on sunny days or live very far in North/South where is not much sunshine.