Vegetarian diet can lead to iron and zinc deficiency

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Sunday September 24, 2006

Kiel, Germany- People who do not eat meat need to watch their iron and zinc intake. "Only small amounts of these minerals are found in other foods," noted Professor Elisabeth Wisker, a nutritional scientist at Germany's University of Kiel. Although whole grains have a high iron content, little of it passes into the blood, Wisker pointed out. But she said that nutritional supplements - in tablet form, for example - could provide sufficient iron and zinc. "Eating meat isn't essential," she said.

Meat is nevertheless the best source of iron, Wisker remarked. Children and women - especially pregnant ones - need the iron contained in meat most, she said, adding that it was easier to get the proteins found in meat elsewhere: "Grains, legumes and dairy products are suitable" sources, she said.

Wisker stressed that it was nutritionally harmful to avoid an entire food group. "A person who stops consuming dairy products altogether, for example, will soon have a calcium deficiency."

She advised however that people carefully consider where, and at what price, they buy meat. "The cheaper meat is, the less that has likely been invested in its quality," she said.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur