Nutrient intake and health status of vegans. Chemical analyses of diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique

Abstract

A strict vegetarian diet [vegan diet (VD)] was investigated. Six middle-aged vegans (three men and three women) collected copies of 24-h diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique. By chemical analyses, the nutrient composition was determined in detail and compared with corresponding figures of a normal mixed Swedish diet. In the VD 30% of the energy originated from fat compared with 40% in normal Swedish mixed diet (MD). Linoleic acid was the dominant fatty acid (60% of total fat in VD versus 8% in MD). The VD contained 24 g protein/1000 kcal compared to 30 g/1000 kcal in MD, but the intake of essential amino acids by the vegans exceeded the recommendations. Dietary fiber was about 5 times higher in the vegan diet (29 versus 6 g/1000 kcal) and sucrose similar to MD (18 versus 21 g/1000 kcal). Among the inorganic nutrients the concentration of calcium (351 versus 391 mg/1000 kcal) and sodium (53 versus 49 mmol/1000 kcal) were similar in both types of diets but the amount of potassium (56 versus 30 mmol/1000 kcal, magnesium (300 versus 110 mg/1000 kcal), iron (9 versus 6.5 mg/1000 kcal), zinc (6.5 versus 4.7 mg/1000 kcal), and copper (2 versus 0.7 mg/1000 kcal) were nearly doubled. Iodine (39 versus 156 micrograms/1000 kcal and selenium (5 versus 17 micrograms/1000 kcal) were much lower in the VD, selenium even being undetectable in several 24-h diets. The VD was rich in folic acid (301 versus 90 micrograms/1000 kcal in MD) but the intake of vitamin B12 was only 0.3 to 0.4 microgram/day (MD: 3 to 4 micrograms/day). No clinical signs of nutritional deficiency were observed in the vegans. Serum protein levels of the vegans as well as their serum lipoproteins were near the lower range of the reference group. In addition, none of the vegans was overweight and their blood pressures were low for their age.

Associations between estimated acrylamide intakes, and hemoglobin AA adducts in a sample from the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort

“…The double portion technique, where a second portion is collected of everything the participant eats during a given time period and analyzed for its content of AA would (although expensive and cumbersome) be an alternative design for a study of the dose-response effect (Abdulla et al, 1981;Lightowler and Davies, 2002). We have identified one small pilot study that (similar to our study) assessed selfreport dietary intakes of AA (but used a 40 item questionnaire) during the preceding 3 months, and compared these with Hb adduct levels of AA (n ¼ 10 women, including one smoker) .…”

Assessment of iodine intake in vegans: weighed dietary record vs duplicate portion technique

“…However, there are certain sectors of the population who might have relatively high or low intakes of iodine (Lee et al, 1994). Vegans, a group living on plant foods only, are considered to be a group 'at risk' for iodine deficiency (Abdulla et al, 1981;Draper et al, 1993;Rauma et al, 1994;Lightowler & Davies, 1998;Remer et al, 1999). In contrast, individuals who consume certain seaweeds may have iodine intakes approaching or exceeding the provisional maximum tolerable daily intake (PMTDI) of 1000 mg (Lightowler & Davies, 1998).…”

Faecal pH, dietary fibre intake, and proneness to colon cancer in four South African populations

“…22.7 g (Gear et al, 1979), 21.3 g (Bingham et al, 1979), and 20.0 g (Rouse et al, 1983). In comparison, intakes of groups of vegetarians have been reported to be 42.7g (Gear et al, 1979) and 30g (Burr & Sweetnam, 1982), and of strict vegetarians (vegans), 63g (Abdulla et al, 1981). Although the present contribution is focused primarily on the bearing of fibre intake on faecal pH value, another component believed to regulate proneness to colon cancer is percentage of energy derived from fat (also its composition) (Miller et al, 1983;Stubbs, 1983;Reddy & Maeura, 1984).…”