Best Multivitamin For Vegan Athletes [2022]

For athletes, being deficient in anything that their body requires leads to a potential shortfall in performance. This is the last thing that any athlete, either pro or amateur, wants. In this article, we will take you through the best multivitamins for vegan athletes to keep you at peak performance.

A vegan lifestyle can lead to a shortfall in certain vitamins and minerals. Being deficient in these can impact athletic performance.

In this article, we will take you through what you are potentially lacking, as well as provide you with a round-up of the best multivitamins for vegan athletes that will keep you at your peak.

What Vegan Athletes May Be Lacking

Essential amino acids are vital in the body. They help to control muscle repair, grow muscles, and even take consumed food and use it for energy.

Such bodily processes are essential for athletes when working out, post-workout, and to ensure they have enough power throughout the entire race, competition, or training.

Animal meat is often rich in essential and some non-essential amino acids.

It does vary between the type of animals, but carnivores typically receive all the amino acids they can shake a stick at.

For vegans, it’s a different story.

Vegans can and do struggle to maintain nutritional balance.

They can fall short of the ideal levels of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins due to only eating from plant-based sources.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to consume supplements to make up for any shortage due to their vegan diet.

With athletes, this is even more essential than just for regular vegans who only need to support their daily activities and for sustained health.

What Supplements Does A Vegan Athlete Need?

Selecting a multivitamin for an athlete and a vegan comes down to a couple of things. We’ll run through them here for you:

Dosage vs RDA

The ingredient, dosage, and how it compares to the recommended daily allowance (RDA) will determine whether it hits the mark or falls short.

Bear in mind that oftentimes, an excess of a vitamin or mineral may be excreted from the body and ultimately won’t be beneficial.

It’s also possible, for instance, to take a separate Vitamin C booster, and the milligram level is so high that it causes you to have bowel issues.

In other cases, such as with iron, the body isn’t very effective in absorbing iron in pill form; it does better when it’s in foods already.

Also, consider that your vegan diet will already provide some percentage of the RDA as it is. Therefore, even if a multivitamin provides 80% of the RDA, that doesn’t mean you’ll have a shortfall. What you consume that day likely will cover the difference to get you to 100% and likely beyond it.

Multivitamin or Focused Supplementation?

It’s possible to purchase a multivitamin that covers many bases or to get a separate supplement just for B12 or Vitamin C, etc.

The latter can be in addition to a broader multivitamin if you feel that you’re generally deficient in that vitamin or mineral even after taking a daily pill.

Furthermore, multivitamins for vegans don’t usually attempt to cover all the vitamins and minerals.

Instead, many products assume that the plant-based diet will supply the nutrients that are rich in plants, and instead supplement where the vegan is likely lacking.

This contrasts with traditional multivitamins for non-vegans that aim to cover everything.  

For most people, including athletes, a high-quality vegan multivitamin that hits all the high points provides a good balance of vitamins and minerals.

A sensible vegan diet will also likely fill in the gaps. If you are eating a junk food vegan diet, this may be different though!

Therefore, only take an additional, focused supplement (B12, Omega-3, etc.) beyond a multivitamin if there’s a short-term or a specific and valid reason for doing so.

Otherwise, it’s generally not required.

Best Multivitamin For Vegan Athletes 

There will always be different opinions held about the best multivitamin for vegan athletes.

It may come down to personal preference, previous familiarity with the brand, the multivitamin having the best balance of RDA fulfillment, etc.

Here is our opinion on what is the best multivitamin for vegetarian and vegan athletes too:

#1 Ritual Essential Multivitamin

Ritual as a brand was born when the founder was unable to find a vegan multivitamin supplement she could rely on.

Initially launched for women, the brand expanded to support men and those people over fifty.

Their multivitamin has a minty flavor to it. They’re small enough that almost no one has difficulty swallowing them.

A convenient subscription model is available in case they’re not available at your nearest Costco or Walmart.

#2 Complement Plus Essential Vegan Nutrients

Plant-based people love the Compliment Plus range. T

heir Essential Vegan product uses algal oil rather than fish oil, so there’s plenty of Omegas in your future.

Necessary vitamins like D3, K2, and B12 are present too. There’s also the addition of carotenoids because of the alternative nutrient sources used for vegans which is a bonus.

For people who are allergic to nuts or soy, this multivitamin won’t cause any problems. It has no MSG or yeast either and is gluten-free too.

There are also no GMOs or anything artificial. The bottle is made of glass too, so no plastic pollutants either. They’ve thought of everything!

#3 Future Kind Essential Vegan Multivitamin

These vegan soft gels are easy to swallow, unlike hard pills.

As the original vegan multivitamin, it’s a recommended one for people on plant-based eating plans.

The focus of this product is to make up for the lack of Vitamin D, B12, and the Omega-3 that is usually received from Cod Liver Oil tablets or from consuming fish.

This supplement from Future Kind fixes that without compromising your lifestyle choices.

#4 Wholier Multi for Plant-Based People

Embracing the currently trendy color gradient look in their product packing, this is a “whole food multi” for the hip vegan crowd.

The front of the box lists the essential vitamins and minerals that gain attention here, including B12, B3, Iron, Selenium, Iodine, Zinc, and Omega-3.

They go the whole way with their alternative ingredients too.

Fermented chickpeas supply the K2 vitamin, Algae offers Omega-3 (both EPA and DHA without the fish), and spirulina too.

Also, to make it taste and smell good, bergamot and MCT oil have been added for that fruity flavor.

The capsule is also specially made to delay the release of the ingredients. Therefore, that doesn’t happen until it’s already been swallowed.

As such, there’s less reluctance to take this multivitamin. The carbon impact concerns are accounted for too with glass bottles rather than plastic.

Also, it’s possible to get refills to avoid filling landfills unnecessarily.

#5 Supplements Studio Whole Food Multivitamin Plus

The design of this multivitamin should win awards. A thing of beauty!

Inside the bottle, the Whole Foods Multivitamin plus it’s packed with 25 minerals and vitamins galore.

They all come from either vegetables or fruit. The supplement from Supplements Studio is GMP certified for your assurance.

It is vegan, and still has Omega-6, Omega-3, and CoQ10 too.

This might be our number 5 but it’s a strong contender.

#6 MaryRuth’s Liquid Morning Multivitamin

Are there any young budding athletes or testy, slightly older ones who don’t play nice with soft gel or hard pills as their vitamins and minerals? Well… okay then…

The Liquid Morning Multivitamin from Mary Ruth has you covered. It’s a vegan multivitamin liquid to take a spoonful of, rather than swallow a pill.

It is available in Elderberry, Raspberry, or Fruit Punch flavors. There are also chewable gummies, an innovative spray, and more.

#7 Hippo7 Vegan Complete

The label design is simple yet attractive. The team at Hippo7 says this is “Essentials for Plant-Eaters.” Well, that’s a good start.

The product is named Vegan Complete, so we shouldn’t need anything else. The Hippo brand refers to this sizable herbivore.

We don’t think the good folk is suggesting that you will pack on the pounds like a hippo.

Just think of the hippo as cute!

The multivitamin includes seven minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients that vegans are often short on.

As with other vegan supplements, the Omega-3 comes from algae while methyl cobalamin is the source of the B12 vitamin.

There is also Vitamin D, Iron, Iodine, Zinc, and Calcium too.

#8 Abundant Earth Whole Food Elite Multivitamin

The Abundant Earth multivitamin is marketed as Whole Food Elite and we don’t doubt it.

Not only does it include enough vitamins and minerals, but it has multiple probiotics and digestive enzymes.

Mushrooms are included too in case you need little extra fungi in your life.

Also, like with other vegan multivitamins, methyl cobalamin provides improved bioavailability to get your B12 vitamin too.

#9 Deva Vegan Multivitamin & Mineral Supplement

When trying to watch the pennies, then the Deva multivitamin is a go-to product for vegans. It’s noticeably less expensive while still delivering value.

Partly coming from green whole food, herbal mixes, and vegetable powder, it doesn’t cause digestive issues.

There is also a smaller tablet option for athletes who dislike swallowing pills.

Vitamin C, D, and E are given the full RDA dosage.

The B vitamins get most of the way there and your vegan diet will probably do the rest.

There is great value here.

#10 Country Life Max for Vegans

The Country Life brand has been around since the 70s. Long-term vegans have stood by their supplement products for decades.

For this reason, they round out our Top 10 list.

This supplement offers plenty of vitamins, iron, and amino acids too. They’re also formulated for both men and women.

On the downside, the pill has an odor to it and it’s a little tricky to open the bottle.

However, for people who are “one and done” and have no issue swallowing a pill and getting on with their day, the no-nonsense Country Life Max for Vegans has long-term reliability on their side.

Multivitamins for Men, Women, Pregnancy, Menopause, Children, Teens, 50+ Etc.

The vegan supplement market has now reached a level of maturity where it’s now differentiated in some cases.

Therefore, there are sometimes vegan multivitamins for men, for women at various stages in their lives, for children in different age ranges, and for people who are over 50.

For example, the Revly Vegan Hair, Skin, & Nails Complex vegan supplement is for women.

It includes maca root, ginger, and various multivitamins and minerals formulated at the levels women specifically need.

The Naturello Whole Food Multivitamin for Women is a similar story. Organic, with probiotics, and formulated to meet women’s needs.

There is also one for women over 50 and for men too.

Therefore, if you fit into one of the above categories, then by all means choose your best vegan supplement reviewed above. But then consider if the same brand offers one in a category that you fit into?

It may have an improved formulation for you compared to their primary vegan supplement.

Wrapping Up: Best Multivitamin For Vegan Athletes

If you want to ensure that you are getting everything you need in order to fuel your body and performance, a vegan-friendly multivitamin may be the perfect option for you. Above, we have listed some of our favorites for you.