Preliminary analysis of foods for the vegan/vegetarian population. Are they good suppliers of minerals of nutritional interest?

Abstract

Introduction: recently, there has been great development of various products aimed at the vegetarian/vegan population. However, its nutritional value has not been studied in depth. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential intake (PI) and percentage of coverage of daily requirements (% RD) of iron, calcium and zinc from foods aimed at adolescent and adult vegetarian/vegan populations
Materials and method: five medallions (4 commercial, 1 homemade) and eleven beverages (9 commercial, 4 of them with fruit juice and 2 homemade) made with vegetable raw materials were analyzed. The PI of Fe, Ca and Zn was established in the products considering their content and percentage dialyzability (D%). It was calculated, for a portion of food, the percentage of coverage of the daily requirement of these minerals.
Results: the mineral content in the medallions was: [Fe] 1.64-4.21 mg%; [Ca] 104-213 mg% and [Zn] 0.53-3.57 mg%; in beverages it was observed: [Fe] 0.24-2.39 mg%; [Ca] 71- 214 mg% and [Zn] 0.18-0.79 mg%. The D% in medallions was: Fe 7,3-11,9; Ca 10.2-18.2 and Zn 17.0-21.4 and for beverages, Fe 5.2-32.8; Ca 6.4-35.7 and Zn 5.9-33.9. The %RD for adolescents, considering a portion of medallions was: Fe women 3.0-9.0%; men 5.0-16%; Ca 0.7-6.8% and Zn 1.5-3.9% and for adults it was: Fe women 3.0-10%; men 7.0-20%; Ca 0.6-5.8% and Zn 2.0-5.1%. When considering beverages, the %RD for adolescents was: Fe women 2.0-28%; men 4.0-53%; Ca 0.4-22% and Zn 1.3-9.5%. For adults it was: Fe women 2.0-31%; men 5.0-64%; Ca 0.3-19% and Zn 1.8-12%.
Conclusions: in the medallions, low % RD was observed for the minerals studied. Drinks with added orange or apple juices provided significant amounts of iron. The %RD for zinc and calcium of the sixteen foods was low (both groups studied). Consequently, to meet the requirements of these minerals, it would be necessary to properly combine the foods consumed.