3 Things All Vegetarians Should Know

Seunga (Jasmine) Han, PharmD Candidate

Adopting a healthy vegetarian diet can be very beneficial for improving your overall health, as it can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.^1,2 Contrary to popular beliefs, you don’t need to take dietary supplements as a vegetarian to ensure complete nutrition intake; however, some dietary planning may be necessary to provide this.

What is a vegetarian diet?

Before we start, it’s important to note that there are various types of vegetarian diets that you can follow. In general, a vegetarian diet may or may not include egg or dairy products.¹ Lacto-ovo-vegetarians are more specific in that they contain both eggs and dairy products in their diet. However, lacto-vegetarians only include dairy products in their diet, while ovo-vegetarians only include eggs and egg products. Vegans, unlike others, exclude both egg and dairy products as well as honey based on personal preference. Lastly, raw vegan diets, as the name suggests, consist of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and sprouted grains that are often uncooked.¹

Three main nutritional considerations for vegetarians

#1. Iron

Iron is one of the hardest nutrients for vegetarians to obtain, as they need to eat twice as much iron as non-vegetarians.² This is because iron from plants (non-heme iron), isn’t absorbed as well as iron from animal sources (heme-iron).² It is essential to ensure adequate iron intake as inadequate consumption can lead to iron-deficiency anemia which can present itself with fatigue, difficulty breathing upon exertion, and difficulty swallowing.³

Excellent sources of non-heme iron include the following:³

• Soy and soy products
• Meat alternatives
• Dried beans, peas, lentils
• Fortified grain products
• Nuts and seeds
• Prune juice and dried apricots
• Vegetables like cooked spinach, kale and potatoes with their skins
• Blackstrap molasses

Additionally, iron is better absorbed when consumed with vitamin C rich juice or food such as oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, kiwis, mangos, cantaloupe, potatoes, sweet peppers, broccoli, snow peas and some green leafy vegetables.

#2. Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is another area of concern for vegetarian diets, as vitamin B12 is not a component of plant foods.¹ It is important for vegetarians, especially vegans, to consume B12 fortified foods or B12 containing supplements to avoid having a deficiency.¹ Similar to iron-deficiency anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency anemia can present with symptoms such as fatigue, tingling in the fingers or toes, poor cognition, poor digestion, and failure to thrive in small children.³

#3. Protein

Despite the lack of meat in vegetarian diets, when an adequate calorie amount is consumed, most vegetarians meet or exceed the recommended protein intake. Depending on the type of diet you follow, there may be some restrictions on the source of protein you can have. The following are some examples of protein sources:³

• Soy and soy products like tofu, fortified soy beverages
• Meat alternatives
• Dried beans, peas, lentils
• Grains
• Nuts, nut butter, and seeds
• Peanuts and peanut butter
• Dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese
• Eggs

Following a vegetarian diet can be a tough journey; however, a little planning with the help from Canada’s Food Guide will ensure your diet is healthy and balanced. We hope that you were able to take away some helpful information from this article. Pursuing a healthy lifestyle can be difficult, but as always, reach out to your healthcare practitioner if you need additional support. Or, feel free to reach out to us at ask@orbishealth.ca if you have any questions, concerns or feedback on how we’re doing.

RESOURCES

1. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Vegetarian Diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2016; 116, 1970-1980.
2. Dietitians of Canada.
3. DynaMed Plus