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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

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Follow for more summaries of newly published research that's relevant to vegan/plant-based/animal-free diets.

Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Longitudinal & experimental studies are sorely needed on this topic for us to attain greater clarity.

Link to study: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

How much iron veg*ns need is controversial: with EFSA holding that vegetarians should aim for the RDA; whereas NAM proposes vegetarians consume 1.8 times the RDA.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

It seems plausible though, that veg*ns may be somewhat at greater risk due to lower iron stores. Indeed, from what I can tell the number of individuals with very low hemoglobin tends to be higher among veg*ns. OTOH average hemoglobin among veg*ns tends to be comparable.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

No differences were found in terms of hemoglobin between the different dietary patterns. This suggests that the rate of clinically diagnosable iron deficiency anemia was comparable between them.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Veg*ns consistently display lower mean ferritin levels (versus meat eaters) in studies and as we have seen this study is no exception.

In clinical practice “iron deficiency anemia” is diagnosed by triangulating several (deranged) markers including ferritin, hemoglobin as well as others).

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Some thoughts:

Whether veg*n or not, menstruating females require more iron and are thus at higher risk of iron deficiency anemia.

Veg*n males and non-menstruating females are not particularly at risk.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Vegetarian patties & legumes were linked to ⬆️ odds of iron deficiency. E.g., ≥ 5 portions of vegetarian patties per week was associated with 6 times the odds of having ferritin levels < 15μg/L.

Perhaps bc the more one consumes these foods, the higher the likelihood that one eats a low-meat diet.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Additionally 3-4 portions of fruit & berries associated with a reduced odds of iron deficiency. This could be because these foods are a source of vitamin C: an enhancer of iron bioavailability.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

This makes sense as red meat and poultry: a) contain heme iron (which is more bioavailable than the non-heme iron found in plants; & b) are key enhances of non-heme iron bioavailability.

However, no significant associations were found for fish & shellfish.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Looking at the relationship between individual foods consumed by the entire cohort and iron deficiency:

As one might expect, ≥1 portions of red meat or poultry per day was associated with lower odds of iron deficiency, compared to ≤ 1 portion per month.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

“[T]here were no significant differences in haemoglobin levels or presence of anaemia between any of the groups of self-reported diet”.

Mean hemoglobin (g/L) was very similar for all groups.

The estimated prevalence of anemia was also very similar. 2.9% in omnivores vs 3.2% in veg*ns (p = 0.926).

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Omnivores (meat eaters): 30.5%
Non-consumers of red meat: 48.2%
Pescetarians: 47.4%
Vegetarians + vegans: 69.4%

More restrictions to self-reported diets led to consistently lower ferritin levels.

Vegetarians/vegans were found to have 6 times the odds of “iron deficiency” (CI: 3.2, 11; p= < 0.001).

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

After adjustment for BMI, menstrual bleeding intensity/frequency & iron supplementation, the observed levels of iron deficiency (ferritin < 15μg/L) for each dietary group (vegetarian + vegans were combined) were as follows:

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Total sample: 474.

Omnivores (meat eaters): 347
Non-consumers of red meat: 27
Pescetarians: 38
Vegetarians: 60
Vegans: 3

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Participants completed a questionnaire on their phones which gathered data on their background characteristics, menstruation, symptoms of fatigue, nutritional supplement use & dietary habits.

Weight & height were measured & blood samples were taken.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

Teenage girls are especially vulnerable to iron deficiency due to rapid growth & significant iron losses during menstruation.

Females over the age of 15 from 2 schools in Sweden were invited to participate in this study.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 7

This study examined the correlations between different dietary patterns (including vegan and vegetarian patterns) & iron deficiency.

Summary & commentary🧵👇

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

Link to study:

sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Impact of energy intake on the association between protein intake and the prevalence of frailty in older Korean adults: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2014–2018

Findings regarding dietary protein and frailty are inconsistent. This inconsistency may be attributed to variations in energy intake adequacy. We hypo…

sciencedirect.com

Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

The authors adjusted for comorbidities, but there is a greater risk of residual confounding with observational studies & even more so for cross-sectional studies.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

On the other hand, perhaps these associations can be explained by the fact that fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, whole legumes, traditional soy products appear to be protective against cardiometabolic health problems (which increase one's risk of frailty).

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

But it would be somewhat surprising if plant protein turns out to be superior for frailty prevention when in negative energy balance.

After all, the protein from animal products is of higher “protein quality” compared to the protein in nuts, whole legumes, fruits and vegetables.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

It stands to reason that adequate energy intake protects against frailty. & the interaction between protein and energy intake is not unexpected either. For example, it is known that a calorie deficit increases the risk of muscle loss and a higher protein intake can mitigate this.

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

Thus, “total and animal protein intake were inversely associated with the prevalence of frailty among energy-sufficient participants, whereas plant protein intake was associated with a lower frailty prevalence, regardless of energy intake,”

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Pl4ntbased @pl4ntbased.bsky.social · Apr 5

But when looking at the energy-deficient participants: only plant protein was associated with a lower incidence of frailty.

Only protein from vegetables/fruits were associated with a statistically significant lower prevalence of frailty among energy deficient participants.

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