QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Shaw, N.-S. Articles by Pan, W.-H. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Shaw, N.-S. Articles by Pan, W.-H.

A Vegetarian Diet Rich in Soybean Products Compromises Iron Status in Young Students^1,2,

Ning-Sing Shaw³, Chia-Jung Chin^* and Wen-Harn Pan

Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China ^* Graduate Institute of Home Economics, Private Chinese Cultural University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China

The iron status of young Chinese Buddhist vegetarians (23 men and 32 women) and nonvegetarian students (20 men and 39 women from a medical college) was investigated by dietary assessment of iron intake and hematological measurement of biochemical indices including hemoglobin, plasma iron, transferrin, transferrin saturation and plasma ferritin. A characteristic of the vegetarian diet in this study was the replacement of meat by soybean products. Results of the dietary assessment showed that the average iron density of the diets ranged from 1.9 to 2.2 mg/MJ, with no difference between the vegetarian and nonvegetarian diets. Daily iron intake was similar in both vegetarian and nonvegetarian men. However, iron intake was significantly higher in female vegetarians than nonvegetarians, averaging 104 and 78% of the RDA, respectively. Results of blood analysis showed that, for both sexes, the median plasma ferritin concentration of the vegetarians (male 47 µg/L and female 12 µg/L) was about half the level of the nonvegetarians (male 91 µg/L and female 27 µg/L). Occurrence and risk of iron deficiency are more prevalent in vegetarians. Correlation between plasma ferritin concentration and years of vegetarian practice in vegetarian men was marginally significant (r = -0.38, P = 0.077). We conclude that a vegetarian diet that is rich in soybean products and restricted in animal foods is limited in bioavailable iron and is not adequate for maintaining iron balance in men and women.

KEY WORDS: • soybean-rich diet • plasma ferritin • iron status • vegetarians • humans • iron intake

¹ Supported by grant DOH80-69, Department of Health, Taiwan, Republic of China.

² The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 24 November 1993. Revision accepted 29 July 1994.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Lonnerdal Soybean ferritin: implications for iron status of vegetarians Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2009; 89(5): 1680S - 1685S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]