Plant-Based Diets in Clinical Practice: Nutrient Adequacy, Monitoring and the Supplements That Are Not Optional
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22302394Keywords:
Plant-based diet, Vegan, Vitamin B12, Iodine, Nutritional monitoringAbstract
Risk on a plant-based diet tracks supplementation rather than duration. In a clinical nutrition centre cohort of 151 vegans and 85
non-vegans, those not using cobalamin supplements were at higher risk of low plasma cobalamin, with an odds ratio of 4.41 (95%
CI 1.2 to 16.16), while no significant difference in cobalamin status related to duration of the diet was observed and regularly
supplementing vegans had levels similar to non-vegans. Attention is unevenly distributed across nutrients: among 213 vegan
respondents to a survey, all who supplemented took vitamin B12 and 73 per cent took vitamin D, but only 12 per cent took iodine
and 7 per cent zinc. Analysis of a published one-week vegan meal plan found it supplying 1 per cent of the daily value for iodine, 5
per cent for vitamin D and 82 per cent for vitamin B12.
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