A vegetarian diet is considered better for prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases. However, zinc and selenium, currently recognized as antioxidants, are abundant in animal food, and so it is necessary to assess the nutritional status of vegetarians with respect to these nutrients. We evaluated the serum levels of zinc, selenium, superoxide dismutase (SOD), dietary intake, and other elements in 13 non-vegetarian and 11 vegetarian individuals in 2007. In addition, we put the data in our 2002-2003 study on 58 non-vegetarian and 31 vegetarian individuals together. So we analyzed the dietary intake and constituents of serum in 113 subjects. We found that the intake and serum levels of zinc and selenium were lower in the vegetarian than in the non-vegetarian individuals. Although the difference was not significant, the serum SOD was also lower in the vegetarians. Accordingly, the deficient intake of some nutrients by the vegetable diet was considered to negatively affect the health. However, there were more intake of antioxidants, such as β-carotene and manganese, in the vegetarian than in non-vegetarian diet, and the positive effect of these elements was noticed.
Although the vegetable diet is reportedly an effective method from the viewpoint of obesity control and lifestyle-related disease prevention, we think that it is necessary to consider well the trace nutrients intake in this vegetarian diet.
