Vitamins in Georgia: what is lacking and what is not

Published: 5 June 2026 · Updated: 8 August 2026

The subject of vitamins is often reduced to universal advice, as though we all lived in the same conditions. In reality climate, season and the local kitchen decide a great deal.

Vitamin D — a genuine seasonal question

At Georgia’s latitude, between November and March the angle of the sun is so low that effective vitamin D synthesis in the skin practically stops. That is a fact of climate, not of marketing.

It is therefore the one vitamin whose level is often worth checking (a 25(OH)D test) in winter — especially for people who work in an office.

Vitamin C — where the Georgian kitchen helps

Rosehip, peppers, kiwi, citrus, cabbage and fresh herbs are all a familiar part of the Georgian table and a good source of vitamin C.

One detail is worth noting: long boiling partly destroys vitamin C. Raw herbs — present at practically every Georgian table — give an advantage here.

B12 — a question for a vegetarian diet

B12 is found practically only in products of animal origin. If meat, fish, eggs and dairy appear regularly in the diet, a deficiency is unlikely. With a strict vegetarian diet it becomes a separate question for a doctor.

Iron — but not blindly

An iron supplement is not something to prescribe yourself. Excess iron is as much a problem as a shortfall. If tiredness, weakness or pallor concern you, that is a matter for a blood test, not for a complex taken off the shelf.

When a supplement is worth it and when it is not

A supplement makes sense when it fills a specific gap.

• A real seasonal gap (vitamin D in winter) — justified
• A deficiency confirmed by a test — justified
• A restricted diet (vegetarianism, a diet) — justified
• "Everyone takes it, so will I" — never justified
• A multi-component complex of "a bit of everything" — usually unnecessary

Winter and vitamin D at Georgia’s latitude

Georgia lies at roughly the 41st to 43rd parallel. From October to March the angle of the sun is so low that synthesis of vitamin D in the skin practically stops — even a walk under a clear sky in Tbilisi or Batumi does not deliver a sufficient amount in that period.

That is exactly why vitamin D is the most discussed supplement in the winter months. It does not mean everyone automatically needs it: the 25(OH)D test exists to establish your level, and the specific amount depends on age, weight and the starting figure.

What a Georgian seasonal table covers — and what it does not

The Georgian diet supplies a great deal naturally: fresh herbs give folate, walnuts give fatty acids and magnesium, matsoni and cheese give calcium, beans give plant protein and iron. In the summer and autumn season the variety of fruit and vegetables genuinely covers a large part of the vitamins.

What is scarcer on that table: omega-3 fatty acids, if you rarely eat oily sea fish, and vitamin D in winter. That is why thinking about a supplement is logical once a specific gap has become visible — rather than as a replacement for "everything at once".

Storage in our climate

"A cool, dry place" on a label takes on a concrete meaning in a Georgian summer. A bottle left by the window in Tbilisi in July, or a pack left in a car, reaches a higher temperature than the manufacturer allowed for — this applies to oil-based forms in particular.

Humidity is the second factor: on the Adjara coast, or simply in a bathroom cabinet, moisture in the air sticks capsules together and damages powdered forms. A kitchen or bedroom cupboard is better, where the temperature is steady and direct sun does not reach.