Vitamin b2 Rich Foods

Foods which are good sources of riboflavin

The main purpose of this page is to provide you with a list of vitamin B2 foods so you can find the best sources of this important vitamin. We also explain what vitamin B2 is and how much of it you need per day, as well as explaining why it is needed for good health.

What is riboflavin and why do you need it?

Riboflavin is another name for vitamin B2, a nutrient that is vital to your diet. As a water soluble B vitamin, it is not stored in the body and so you need to consume riboflavin every day, although as you will see from the chart to the right, the recommended daily intake is actually quite small. As well as being found in vitamin B2 foods, riboflavin can also be produced synthetically. Because of this, it can be added to various foods including cereals, baby foods and cheeses to help you reach your daily requirements. It can also be taken via supplements, which we will mention further down the page.

If you eat a healthy diet, you should not have any trouble getting the required amount of vitamin B2. However, riboflavin is destroyed by light, so foods containing this vitamin should not be stored in clear containers.

Riboflavin helps your body cells to release energy from the fat, protein and carbohydrates from foods we eat. It is also important for growth and red blood cell production, and helps your body to absorb iron, so you can see that it is important to ensure your diet contains sufficient foods high in riboflavin.

RDI Vitamin B2

  • 1.3mg Men
  • 1.1mg Women
  • 1.4 mg Pregnant women
  • 1.6 mg Breastfeeding women
  • 1.3mg Boys 14-18 years
  • 1.0mg Girls 14-18 years
  • 0.9mg Children 9-13 years
  • 0.6mg Children 4-8 years
  • 0.5mg Toddler 1-3 years
  • 0.4mg Infants 7-12 months
  • 0.3mg Infants 0-6 months

List of Vitamin B2 Foods

Top 10 Foods containing riboflavin

Here is a list of ten of the best vitamin B2 rich foods, or riboflavin as it is otherwise known.

Top Ten Vitamin B2 Foods

  1. Marmite

    Well you either love it or you hate it, but if marmite is something that your taste buds have a thing for, it can act as a great dietary source of vitamin B2. Marmite is also rich in several other B vitamins such as vitamin B1. In just a 6 g spoon/spread of marmite there is 0.9 milligrams, which is 70% of your RDI (recommended daily intake).

    100 g of marmite contains a massive 14.3 mg of vitamin B2 – 1100 % of your RDI.

  2. Multi grain Cheerios

    Multi grain cheerios are a very healthy breakfast cereal which are jam packed with nutrients. On top of a rich supply of riboflavin they are also fortified with many other vitamins including B12 and vitamin E. Other fortified cereals also contain high levels of vitamins, so be sure to check the label of your favourite cereal to see what benefits it offers.

    100 g of multi grain cheerios provides you with 5.9 mg of B2, 453% of your RDI.

  3. Lamb’s liver ,cooked

    Liver may not be high on many peoples’ lists of favourite foods, but it is worth noting that liver, and lamb’s liver in particular, is a particularly rich source of vitamin B2. Just 40g of lamb’s liver can supply you with your total daily intake of vitamin B2.

    100 g of lamb’s liver contains 4.59 mg of vitamin B2, a massive 353% of your daily requirement.

  4. Seaweed, spirulina (dried)

    100 g of spirulina has 4mg of riboflavin, 308% of your RDI.

  5. Dried egg white

    100g of dried egg white contains 3 mg of vitamin B2, 231% of your RDI.

  6. Kidney

    Another fantastic food source of vitamin B2 is kidney. Now this may not be something that is atop of everyone’s list of favorite foods, but it does have some very rich nutritional properties. Beef kidney, or any kidney for that matter is also a great source of vitamin B12 and selenium.

    100 g of braised beef kidney contains 2.95 mg of riboflavin, 227% of your daily requirements.

  7. Maple syrup

    In 100 g of maple syrup there is 1.27 mg of riboflavin, working out as 98% of the total required per day.

  8. Almonds (raw)

    Nuts also act as impressive sources of riboflavin, and almonds are the premier example. You can get a huge dose of this vitamin from this highly nutritious nut, as well as a large amount of magnesium and zinc.

    100 g of raw almonds contains 1.1 mg of vitamin B2, working out as 85% of the total amount needed in a day.

  9. Feta cheese

    Cheeses are a great example of riboflavin foods, and Feta in particular is another food high in vitamin B2.

    100 g of feta cheese contains 0.8 mg of riboflavin, 62% of your RDI.

  10. Soybeans (dry roasted)

    Finally on our list of top vitamin B2 foods are dry roasted soybeans, also known as edamane beans.

    A 100g serving of these beans has 0.76 mg of vitamin B2, 58% of your RDI.

It is worth noting that while you would be unlikely to eat 100 g of some of these foods, they are such rich sources of riboflavin that only a little will go a long way toward reaching your daily requirements.

More foods with riboflavin in

If nothing on our top ten vitamin B2 foods list appeals to you, here is a wide variety of other riboflavin rich foods for you to choose from

  • Venison – 0.66 mg
  • Liver pate – 0.6 mg
  • Mackerel – 0.58 mg
  • Egg (hard boiled) 0.51 mg
  • Pork sirloin – 0.51 mg
  • Brie cheese 0.5 mg
  • Mushrooms 0.5 mg
  • Sun dried tomatoes 0.49 mg
  • Sesame seeds – 100 g – 0.47 mg
  • Squid 0.46 mg
  • Condensed milk 0.4 mg
  • Mussels – 0.42 mg
  • Cheddar cheese – 0.43 mg
  • Cheese, blue – 0.38 mg
  • Beet greens – 0.3 mg
  • Granola – 0.29 mg
  • Beet greens – 0.29 mg
  • Yogurt , greek – 0.28 mg
  • Spinach 0.24 mg
  • Pine nuts – 0.23 mg
  • Trout – 0.2 mg
  • Prunes – 0.19 mg
  • Whole fat milk – 0.17 mg
  • Avocado – 0.13 mg
  • Broccoli – 0.12 mg

The RDI that has been used in this list applies to an average adult male. Your personal daily requirement  may vary depending on age, gender and other factors. To get a clearer idea of how much riboflavin you should be consuming per day, please see the chart on the top right of the page.

How much vitamin B2 / riboflavin is needed per day?

So how much riboflavin do you need in a day? This is a perfectly reasonable question to ask having seen all of these tasty foods that contain the vitamin. In comparison to other nutrients, the amount of vitamin B2 that you need is rather small.

As you can see from the various foods that contain vitamin B2, it should not be very difficult to get the amount that you need through your diet. You can always top this up by taking a vitamin supplement, although it is worth remembering that from any supplement you will not get the array of nutritional benefits that a food would provide.

Riboflavin deficiency Symptoms

Symptoms of severe deficiency include:

  • Anemia
  • Mouth or lip sores
  • Skin disorders
  • Sore throat
  • Swelling of mucus membranes

Because riboflavin is a water-soluble vitamin, leftover amounts leave the body through the urine. There is no known poisoning from riboflavin.

Finally,  recent research has suggested that high doses of riboflavin (400 mg per day) can help migraine sufferers. However the results of various studies differ, so if you think this is something you might want to look into be sure to seek advice from a medical practitioner.