Riboflavin 

Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a water-soluble vitamin and a nutrient that must be obtained from food or supplements daily. Among other things, riboflavin plays a role in the body’s energy and fatty acid metabolism as well as cellular antioxidant defenses.^{1, 2} 

According to Finnish nutritional recommendations, the daily recommended intake of riboflavin for adults is 1,6 milligrams. 

Good sources of riboflavin in the vegan diet include whole grains, legumes, green vegetables, almonds, mushrooms, as well as fortified plant milks, yogurts, and quarks^{3, 4}. Riboflavin needs can also be met by adding nutritional yeast flakes or brewer’s yeast flakes to food. Depending on the brand, brewer’s yeast flakes contain between 18 and 25 milligrams of riboflavin per 100 grams, whereas nutritional yeast flakes may contain as much as 90 milligrams per 100 grams. Extra riboflavin is secreted into the urine very quickly, so there is no risk of excessive intake¹. 

Many plant-based milks and yogurts are fortified with riboflavin, for example: 

• Alpro almond drink (original or sugar-free): 0,21 mg per 100 ml 

• Alpro soya drink, original: 0,21 mg per 100 ml 

• Oatly oat drink, original: 0,21 mg per 100 ml 

• Oddlygood oat-based yogurt: 0,21 mg per 100 ml 

• Alpro soy-based yogurt, blueberry flavor: 0,21 mg per 100 ml 

Other good sources of riboflavin include⁴: 

Source of riboflavin	mg per 100 grams	Typical portion size	mg per portion
Almonds	0,70	1 tablespoon (10 g)	0,07
Wheat germ	0,63	1 tablespoon (5 g)	0,03
Champignons, cooked	0,43	150 g	0,64
Tempeh	0,36	50 g	0,18
Kale	0,35	50 g	0,17
Pumpkin seeds	0,32	1 tablespoon (11 g)	0,03
Spinach	0,24	50 g	0,12
Broccoli	0,20	60 g	0,12
Muesli	0,12	3 tablespoon (25 g)	0,03
Soybeans, cooked	0,11	1 deciliter (75 g)	0,08
Quinoa, cooked	0,10	110 g	0,11

An example of riboflavin sources for one day: how to get enough riboflavin from food and drink⁴ 

Meal	Food and drink	Amount	Riboflavin, mg
Breakfast	Oatmeal + oat milk (fortified)	1 deciliter dry oats + 2 deciliters	0,45
	Sunflower seeds	1 tablespoon	0,03
	Banana	one small (140 g)	0,06
Lunch	Whole-grain wheat noodles, boiled	135 g	0,07
	Tofu and vegetable wok	300 g	0,20
Afternoon snack	Almonds	1 tablespoon	0,07
Dinner	Lentil soup	350 g	0,18
	Pumpkin seeds	1 tablespoon	0,03
	Whole-grain rye bread	2 slices	0,08
	Margarine	2 teaspoons	0,01
Evening snack	Soy yogurt (fortified)	2 deciliters	0,42
	Oat bread, whole grain	32 g	0,03
	Hummus	1 tablespoon	0,01
	Cucumber	1 deciliter	0,04
Total riboflavin			1,67 mg

The table includes only good vegan sources of riboflavin. A day of eating should include considerably more food.