The following is extracted from a report “The Vegetarian Blend” by April Chong in Mind Your body of the Straits times dated 25 February 2010, Thursday.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vegans may lack nutrients like calcium, iron, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids and certain amino acids unless their diets take these into account.
A lack of calcium in the long run, for example, may lead to lower bone mass and osteoporosis, said orthopaedic doctor Khong Kok Sun from Mount Elizabeth Hospital.
In particular, he noted that elderly vegetarians do tend to become osteoporotic.
Dr Khong attributes this not just to the lack of calcium in their diet but, more importantly, to the presence of the compound phytate in many plant-based foods such as grains and legumes.
He explained that phytate binds to calcium and renders it unabsorbable by the body. So vegetarians who take calcium tablets should do so in the morning or at night when their stomachs are relatively empty.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment