The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has a position paper stating that vegetarian diet pattern (as an example of well planned plant-based eating pattern) are safe for people of all life stages- men, women, pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, older adults and also athletes.
At one time, I had my own concerns that eating more plant-based foods and reducing how much meat I ate. I assumed I would be eating too many carbohydrates and not enough protein, B vitamins, iron, or other minerals. So I am writing this to offer information on filling these gaps. Here's the breakdown on planning a balanced dietary pattern that's focused on plant sources for your health, not to mention the health of the environment too.
Iron.
The body prefers iron from sources like meat- it's just absorbed better. We might then assume people who are not meat eaters won't get enough iron but studies show that this is not the case. Vegetarians absorb enough iron likely because the body looks for the iron because it's not as readily available.
Plant foods with iron include beans, peas, dried fruits like apricot and raisins, dark leafy greens such as spinach, iron fortified products like breads, crackers and cereals (Grape Nuts meet 90% daily value for iron..wow!)
Some easy things to practice when making food can be using cast iron skillets and pairing vitamin C with high iron foods to increase iron's absorption. Iron also completes with calcium so taking calcium supplements and drinking teas and coffee between meals will help ensure the iron you're eating isn't getting any interference from these other nutrients.
A great strategy I encourage is using cast iron pots and skillets to transfer iron safely to enrich foods when they are being cooked.
Another strategy is cooking vitamin C rich sources to help your body absorb more iron. Some of these high vitamin c foods include broccoli, brussels sprouts, peppers, dark leafy green veggies. sweet potatoes and winter squash. You can even add last minute tomato, lime or lemon to your food once you're done cooking with your cast iron skillet (so that you don't ruin the skillet with citrus).
For more details on iron check out this link.
Calcium.
This nutrient is a concern for most of the population because calcium is in dairy products, but experts estimate that about 68 % of the world’s population has lactose malabsorption. 2 Even those who consume dairy products are not always getting enough to meet 1,000mg-1,300mg for most people (age 9+). 1
But calcium isn't only found in dairy. Calcium can be found in dark leafy green vegetables such as cooked collard greens, swiss chard, and turnip greens, as well as fortified products like plant-based milks, tofu, fortified orange juice and cereals.
Looking at the %Daily Value on the nutrition labels- 20% is a good source but know that many plant milks have more than 45% and others have 0%. So this is key when choosing foods like plant based milks to know that the product has calcium in it. Also, very important-don't forget to shake the milk carton! I really didn't know that until recently and didn't care to do it because I've dropped a few milk cartons in the process. Apparently that's important so shake it up before you pour!
Calcium is dependent on vitamin D and that's why they are usually paired together. If vitamin D is low, calcium can't be absorbed. So, how's your vitamin D?
Supplements to consider.
According to a 2011 study, 41.6% of adults in the US are deficient in Vitamin D. And infants and children worldwide have been identified as most vulnerable to deficiency. Vitamin D is consistently low in most diets. Vitamin D depends on your individual vitamin D lab values, if you have inflammatory or malabsorptive diseases and where you live (latitude is important for UVB rays to reach your skin to be made into vitamin D). It's also absorbed into your skin differently depending on how dark your skin is and how much you cover up with clothes or sunscreen. With all these factors combine, it's no wonder most people are just not getting sufficient amounts. 3
You can learn what your vitamin D labs are by asking your doctor to run your bloodwork. For infants and kids, urine testing is an option if you want to know that they are getting what they need. Know that these levels change relatively quickly, and the time of year is important to take into consideration as we get most sunlight in the summer and fall months. Summer and fall months are meant to support our vitamin D needs throughout the winter and spring. So finding out what these levels are in the winter and spring can help you determine if you need a supplement and just how much you should take, with our doctor's suggestion and follow-up labs.
B12 is another nutrient to consider supplementing if you don't consume any animal related products. The RDA for B12 is 2.4mcg/day. For those consuming fortified nutritional yeast, milk, eggs, yogurt and cheeses, vitamin B12 supplementation may not be necessary. However, for all adults over the age of 50, if you are taking metformin or proton-pump inhibitors, it is recommended to supplement with vitamin B12.
Vegetarian diets are classically high in omega-6 fats. These fats come from processed foods, corn oil and soybean oils. But the emphasis, as you may have heard, is on omega-3 fats which aid in inflammation and cellular healing. And needs for these nutrients aren't exclusive to vegetarians or vegans, unless you consume regular salmon, mackerel, cod liver oil or herring. Plant-based Omega-3s are from sources like flaxseeds, walnuts, canola, hempseed and olives, as well as their oil forms. More direct forms of omega-3s are seaweed, algal based supplements and fortified foods with DHA and EPA.
For more info and recipes check out Vegetarian Nutrition and their fantastic website for the public.
1 US Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, Eight Edition. Dec 2015.
2 Storhaug CL, Fosse SK, Fadnes LT. Country, regional, and global estimates for lactose malabsorption in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet. Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2017;2(10):738–746.
3 Forrest KY, Stuhldreher WL. J Nutr Res Elsevier. 2011. Jan;31(1):48-54. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001.
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