One exception, for people who eat no animal products, is vitamin B12, the only vitamin not available from plant foods. When a person stops eating animal products, at least a five-year supply of B12 is usually stored in the body. B12 can be supplied by a number of fortified breakfast cereals, some special nutritional yeasts or from B12 tablets. There is some evidence that Vitamin E may help reduce the risk of heart attacks. If later research confirms these preliminary findings, persons with high heart risk will have gained those benefits.
Vitamin E is an anti-oxidant and is also thought to be helpful in preventing some kinds of cancer.
Some evidence indicates that anti-oxidants work better in combinations, such as Vitamin C, beta carotene and Vitamin E together. Vitamin E comes in capsules, tablets and soft-gels, small gelatin balls containing the liquid vitamin, allowing it to be absorbed rapidly. The gelatin in soft-gels and capsules is most often made from animal products and for that reason many vegetarians prefer vitamins in tablet form. Minerals are absorbed by plants from the soil and water and then become part of the foods we eat. Of the more than sixty minerals present in the human body, only 22 are considered essential.