Lactovegetarian Diets Research Articles

Use of Metabolomics in Improving Assessment of Dietary Intake.

Nutritional metabolomics is rapidly evolving to integrate nutrition with complex metabolomics data to discover new biomarkers of nutritional exposure and status. The purpose of this review is to provide a broad overview of the measurement techniques, study designs, and statistical approaches used in nutrition metabolomics, as well as to describe the current knowledge from epidemiologic studies identifying metabolite profiles associated with the intake of individual nutrients, foods, and dietary patterns. A wide range of technologies, databases, and computational tools are available to integrate nutritional metabolomics with dietary and phenotypic information. Biomarkers identified with the use of high-throughput metabolomics techniques include amino acids, acylcarnitines, carbohydrates, bile acids, purine and pyrimidine metabolites, and lipid classes. The most extensively studied food groups include fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, bread, whole grain cereals, nuts, wine, coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate. We identified 16 studies that evaluated metabolite signatures associated with dietary patterns. Dietary patterns examined included vegetarian and lactovegetarian diets, omnivorous diet, Western dietary patterns, prudent dietary patterns, Nordic diet, and Mediterranean diet. Although many metabolite biomarkers of individual foods and dietary patterns have been identified, those biomarkers may not be sensitive or specific to dietary intakes. Some biomarkers represent short-term intakes rather than long-term dietary habits. Nonetheless, nutritional metabolomics holds promise for the development of a robust and unbiased strategy for measuring diet. Still, this technology is intended to be complementary, rather than a replacement, to traditional well-validated dietary assessment methods such as food frequency questionnaires that can measure usual diet, the most relevant exposure in nutritional epidemiologic studies.

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Type of vegetarian diet, obesity and diabetes in adult Indian population.

BackgroundTo investigate the prevalence of obesity and diabetes among adult men and women in India consuming different types of vegetarian diets compared with those consuming non-vegetarian diets.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data of 156,317 adults aged 20–49 years who participated in India’s third National Family Health Survey (2005–06). Association between types of vegetarian diet (vegan, lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, semi-vegetarian and non-vegetarian) and self-reported diabetes status and measured body mass index (BMI) were estimated using multivariable logistic regression adjusting for age, gender, education, household wealth, rural/urban residence, religion, caste, smoking, alcohol use, and television watching.ResultsMean BMI was lowest in pesco-vegetarians (20.3 kg/m2) and vegans (20.5 kg/m2) and highest in lacto-ovo vegetarian (21.0 kg/m2) and lacto-vegetarian (21.2 kg/m2) diets. Prevalence of diabetes varied from 0.9% (95% CI: 0.8-1.1) in person consuming lacto-vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian (95% CI:0.6-1.3) and semi-vegetarian (95% CI:0.7-1.1) diets and was highest in those persons consuming a pesco-vegetarian diet (1.4%; 95% CI:1.0-2.0). Consumption of a lacto- (OR:0.67;95% CI:0.58-0.76;p < 0.01), lacto-ovo (OR:0.70; 95% CI:0.51-0.96;p = 0.03) and semi-vegetarian (OR:0.77; 95% CI:0.60-0.98; p = 0.03) diet was associated with a lower likelihood of diabetes than a non-vegetarian diet in the adjusted analyses.ConclusionsIn this large, nationally representative sample of Indian adults, lacto-, lacto-ovo and semi-vegetarian diets were associated with a lower likelihood of diabetes. These findings may assist in the development of interventions to address the growing burden of overweight/obesity and diabetes in Indian population. However, prospective studies with better measures of dietary intake and clinical measures of diabetes are needed to clarify this relationship.

Veganism does not reduce the risk of the metabolic syndrome in a Taiwanese cohort.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the risk of the metabolic syndrome (MS) with vegan, pescovegetarian, lactovegetarian and nonvegetarian diets in Taiwan. The design was a retrospective cohort study using secondary data analysis from a Taiwan longitudinal health check-up database provided by MJ Health Screening Center during 1996-2006. A total of 93209 participants were classified as vegans (n=1116), pescovegetarians (n=2461), lactovegetarians (n=4313) and nonvegetarians (n=85319) by food frequency list of self-administered questionnaire at baseline. The association between MS or MS components and different dietary groups was evaluated using Cox proportional-hazards regression models with adjustment for confounders. During the mean 3.75 years of follow up, a total 8006 MS incident cases occurred and the incidence of MS was 229 (95% CI, 224, 234) per 10000 person year. Compared with vegans, hazard ratios of MS for nonvegetarians, pescovegetarians, lactovegetarians were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.64, 0.88), 0.68 (95% CI, 0.55, 0.83) and 0.81 (95% CI, 0.67, 0.97) after adjusting for sex, age, education status, smoking status, drinking status, physical activity at work and leisure, respectively. As for MS components, nonvegetarians and pescovegetarians had 0.72 (95% CI, 0.62, 0.84), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.57, 0.84) times risk of developing low high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), while nonvegetarians had 1.16 (95% CI, 1.02, 1.32) times risk of developing high fasting plasma glucose. Our data suggest that the vegan diets did not decrease the risk of metabolic syndrome compared with pescovegetarian, lactovegetarian and nonvegetarian diets in a Taiwanese cohort.

Characteristics and nutrient intake of Taiwanese elderly vegetarians: evidence from a national survey

The present study examines the prevalence and characteristics of vegetarians in the Taiwanese elderly. We analysed data from the Elderly Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan (1999-2000), which used a multi-staged, stratified, clustered probability sampling design. Community-dwelling elderly (n 1071), aged 65 years and older, were included. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle and metabolic variables, and eating habits were obtained through household interviews and health examinations. Nutrient intake was assessed using a 24h dietary recall. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine factors significantly and independently associated with vegetarian status and to estimate the OR of the hypertension and the metabolic syndrome (MS) for vegetarians compared with omnivores. About 25% of the Taiwanese elderly persons were vegetarians. Systolic pressure (OR 1·01, 95% CI 1, 1·02, P=0·038), female sex (OR 5·02, 95% CI 3·11, 8·1, P<0·001), smoking status (P=0·034; current smoker (OR 0·45, 95% CI 0·24, 0·85, P=0·014)) and regular exercise (OR 1·87, 95% CI 1·37, 2·56, P<0·001) were independently associated with vegetarian status among Taiwanese elderly persons. Vegetarians consumed significantly lower daily total energy (P<0·001), lower cholesterol (P=0·002), a higher percentage of fat as PUFA (P=0·022), higher Ca (P<0·001) and higher crude fibres (P=0·041) compared with omnivores. Between the two vegetarian diets, ovo- or lacto-vegetarian diets contained more beneficial micronutrients, such as K, Ca and Mg, and higher crude fibres than vegan diets (all P<0·05). The likelihood of having hypertension and the MS was not significantly different between vegetarians and omnivores as examined by sex- or multivariate-adjusted logistic regression.

Development of a Diet Quality Index with Special Reference to Micronutrient Adequacy for Adolescent Girls Consuming a Lacto-Vegetarian Diet

Recent dietary guidelines emphasize micronutrient sufficiency by giving importance to consumption of whole grains and a variety of fruits and vegetables. The objective of this study was to identify a measure of micronutrient quality of diets in adolescent girls consuming a lacto-vegetarian diet. Data were collected on the nutritional status of 630 schoolgirls (ages 10 to 16 years) from Pune city, India, in a cross-sectional survey during 2006-2007. Dietary intakes were assessed by 24-hour recall on 3 nonconsecutive days. Nutrient intakes were calculated from the Indian nutritive value databases. Micronutrient adequacy was expressed as a ratio of observed intake to reference intake. An Adolescent Micronutrient Quality Index (AMQI) was formulated using the Indian and the recent US dietary guidelines. Fasting blood samples were analyzed for plasma levels of vitamin C, beta carotene, and zinc. The average energy intake of the majority of the girls was below the Indian recommended dietary intakes, whereas micronutrient intakes were 50% to 70% lower than recommended dietary intakes. The mean AMQI score was 41.5±9.4. The age of subjects as well as mother's education and occupation were significantly associated with the AMQI. The AMQI was correlated with nutrient intakes and the ratio of observed intake to reference intake ( P<0.01) after controlling for energy intake and sociodemographic factors. Higher AMQI scores were associated with higher concentrations of plasma vitamin C ( r=0.26), beta carotene ( r=0.34), and zinc ( r=0.12). The AMQI is a useful measure of the dietary adequacy and micronutrient quality of the diets of adolescent girls consuming lacto-vegetarian diets.

Vegetables as sources of α-linolenic acid in Indian diets

Total lipids were extracted from fresh vegetables, legumes (dry beans) and fenugreek seeds and the fatty acid compositions were determined. The dry beans and fenugreek seeds contain high amounts of both linoleic and α-linolenic acids. Rajmah and cowpea provide more α-linolenic acid as compared to bengal gram and peas ( linoleic α- linolenic ratio ≤1·7 and 5·0 respectively). Fenugreek seeds contain ≈2% α-linolenic acid. On an average the green leafy vegetables provide about seven times more α-linolenic acid than fresh beans and other vegetables. In cereal pulse-based lacto-vegetarian diets, inclusion of plant foods rich in α-linolenic acid on a regular basis can make important contributions to the intake of n-3 fatty acids and may ensure a better nutritional status of these fatty acids.

Nutrient intake and health status of lactovegetarians: chemical analyses of diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique

Six middle-aged lactovegetarians (three men and three women) collected copies of four 24-h diets using the duplicate portion sampling technique. By chemical analyses, the nutrient composition of the lactovegetarian diet was determined in detail and compared with that of a mixed Swedish diet (normal) and a vegan diet (vegan) studied previously. The nutrient composition of the lactovegetarian diet expressed per 1000 kcal represented an average between normal and vegan diets. It was in closer agreement with Swedish recommended dietary allowances than the normal Swedish diet. Thus, the lactovegetarian diet contained 35% of the energy as fat and was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid, which resulted in a polyunsaturated/saturated fat ratio of 0.6. The lactovegetarian diet had a cholesterol concentration only half of that of a normal diet. Protein content and amino acid composition were well above recommendations. The lactovegetarian diets contained less sucrose than normal and vegan diets, but the sum of the intake of low molecular weight carbohydrates was comparable to normal and vegan diets. Dietary fiber was three times higher than in a normal diet. Essential minerals and trace elements, ie, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, Se, satisfied current requirements. The intake of vitamin B12 by the lactovegetarians was around 1.4 µg daily, which is below the recommendations. The intake of folates was high, 300 to 400 µg daily. The clinical and biochemical investigation of the subjects revealed no signs of nutritional deficiency. Their plasma lipoproteins and the blood pressures were low for their age, in agreement with observations made earlier in a group of vegans.