Effect of vegetarianism on the zinc status of pregnant women

Abstract

The zinc status of 12 pregnant vegetarian women, six pregnant nonvegetarian women, and five nonpregnant vegetarian women was evaluated. Zinc intake was calculated from 3-day dietary records. Hair, urinary, and nonfasting plasma samples were collected during an interview. Dietary, plasma, urinary, and hair zinc levels did not differ significantly between the pregnant vegetarians and nonvegetarians. But plasma zinc was about 21% lower in the pregnant women than the nonpregnant women even though the pregnant women consumed about twice as much zinc as the nonpregnant women. The data suggest that the parameters of zinc status studied were affected by pregnancy more than ovo-lacto vegetarian dietary habits.

Zinc: Health Effects and Research Priorities for the 1990s

“…A survey of US foods found 4.63 mg Zn/1000 kcal (18). Some reported dietary intakes of zinc are shown in Table 1 (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). The zinc contents of food products are altered by cooking, and zinc bioavailability is dependent on other components of the diet.…”

“…This effect may have been secondary to phytate and lignin in the diet. However, the effect has not been consistently observed in humans or in animals which may be due to different effects of soluble and insoluble fiber (26,36,130). In vegetarians, phytate and fiber intake is significantly higher than in individuals eating an omnivorous diet, and it is likely that their combined effect on zinc absorption is clinically more important.…”

Vegetarian diet observed by pregnant women. Benefits and risks for mother and fetus

“…Of these, only two studies were conducted in the United States and the whole referred to the eating habits of pregnant vegetarians living there. The following studies were subjected to comparative analysis: Campbell-Brown (1985), Drake (1998), Ganpule (2006), Cheng (2004), Ellis (1987), King (1981), Koebnick ( , 2004Koebnick ( , 2005, and Ward (1988) [7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Based on the results obtained from the studies mentioned above, it is possible to indicate the nutrients for which there are noted differences in the consumed amounts among pregnant women following a vegetarian diet and pregnant women consuming meat and animal products.…”

“…Based on the results obtained from the studies mentioned above, it is possible to indicate the nutrients for which there are noted differences in the consumed amounts among pregnant women following a vegetarian diet and pregnant women consuming meat and animal products. These nutrients include vitamin B12, vitamin C, calcium and zinc [7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. The deficiency of vitamin B12 in the diet of vegetarians follows mainly from the fact that none of the commercially available products of plant origin, if it is not supplemented with vitamin B12 it does not contain such amounts which could provide the daily needs for this vitamin.…”

“…On the other hand, the deficiency of calcium and zinc in the diet of pregnant vegetarians may result from the interactions between these elements. These interactions appear mainly in people who do not consume or consume very small quantities of meat and animal products [7,8,9,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. Additional analyzes also showed that pregnant women following a vegetarian diet may be prone to iron and folic acid deficiency.…”