Nutrient intake and health status of lactovegetarians: chemical analyses of diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique

Abstract

Six middle-aged lactovegetarians (three men and three women) collected copies of four 24-h diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique. By chemical analyses, the nutrient composition of the lactovegetarian diet was determined in detail and compared with that of a mixed Swedish diet (normal) and a vegan diet (vegan) studied previously. The nutrient composition of the lactovegetarian diet expressed per 1000 kcal represented an average between normal and vegan diets. It was in closer agreement with Swedish recommended dietary allowances than the normal Swedish diet. Thus, the lactovegetarian diet contained 35% of the energy as fat and was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid, which resulted in a polyunsaturated/saturated fat ratio of 0.6. The lactovegetarian diet had a cholesterol concentration only half of that of a normal diet. Protein content and amino acid composition were well above recommendations. The lactovegetarian diets contained less sucrose than normal and vegan diets, but the sum of the intake of low molecular weight carbohydrates was comparable to normal and vegan diets. Dietary fiber was three times higher than in a normal diet. Essential minerals and trace elements, ie, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Se, satisfied current requirements. The intake of vitamin B12 by the lactovegetarians was around 1.4 micrograms daily, which is below the recommendations. The intake of folates was high, 300 to 400 micrograms daily. The clinical and biochemical investigation of the subjects revealed no signs of nutritional deficiency. Their plasma lipoproteins and the blood pressures were low for their age, in agreement with observations made earlier in a group of vegans.

Dietary Composition and Renal Function in Healthy Subjects

“…The lower diastolic blood pressure found in the ve gans is in agreement with previous reports [25,26]. Though there was a female preponderance in this group, there is no compelling evidence to suggest that lower arterial pressures could be ascribed to this [27].…”

“…From these data, therefore, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions on the life-long effect of these diets on age-related glomeru losclerosis in healthy subjects [1], The present findings confirm previous reports of lower total protein intake in lactovegetarians and vegans and of the different composition of the diet in these groups [25,26]. This is supported by lower urea and creatinine excre tion over the 7-8 h of our study.…”

“…Vegetarian diets are palatable and varied and provide the energy and protein required for a healthy nutritional state [25,26]. Such diets are associated with potentially beneficial modifications of 3 parameters thought to have poor prognostic value in the progression of renal disease [1,7,[28][29][30].…”

Apparent Absorption of Copper and Zinc from Composite Vegetarian Diets in Young Indian Men

“…Gross intakes of zinc and copper of the 6 subjects who were representing a higher socio economic group were higher than the values estimated for vegetarian Indian diets of lower socio-economic classes [3] and the lactovegetarians as observed by Abdulla et al [ 11 ]. This may be because of the higher energy levels of our subjects.…”

“…Our results of zinc are in the range of the values 8.4 and 26.8% reported for oat meal and for rye bread, respectively [2], Informa tion on the zinc or copper absorption figures for wheat-rice-based meals is scarce [3,11],…”