Agte, V. and S. Chiplonkar (1992). "Thermic responses to vegetarian meals and yoga exercise." Ann Nutr Metab 36(3): 141-147.

                The thermic effect (TEF) of vegetarian meals was measured for breakfast and lunch in 6 lean healthy men (18-25 years) during normal feeding (NF) and with 20% overfeeding (OF) on 28 successive days. The energy contents of breakfast were 223 +/- 10 and 330 +/- 48 kcal, and those of lunch were 1,033 +/- 220 and 1,247 +/- 222 kcal in NF and OF, respectively. In NF, the TEF per 180 min was 32.7 +/- 8.6 and 54.8 +/- 6.3 kcal for breakfast and lunch, respectively. In OF, the TEF was 38.3 +/- 8.3 kcal for breakfast and 57.2 +/- 5.4 kcal for lunch. The increase in total TEF due to OF was nonsignificant (p greater than 0.2). In response to 20% OF, adaptive thermogenesis was manifested mainly through an increase in the resting metabolic rate of 4.9% (p less than 0.001). In both feeding, regimes, the percent TEF was higher for breakfast than for lunch (p less than 0.05). Regression analysis of TEF versus calorie load indicated a stable component of 42 kcal with a 2% rate of increase. Yoga exercises were performed from 16.00 to 17.00 daily. The thermic effect of yoga exercises observed from 17.10 to 18.30 was 21 kcal and persisted beyond 90 min, indicating the role of yoga in energy metabolism.

 

Cupisti, A., et al. (1992). "Fatty acids serum levels in nephrotic patients on a pure vegetarian diet." Nephron 60(3): 376-377.

               

D'Amico, G., et al. (1992). "Effect of vegetarian soy diet on hyperlipidaemia in nephrotic syndrome." Lancet 339(8802): 1131-1134.

                Nephrotic patients with persistent proteinuria also have various lipid abnormalities that may promote atherosclerosis and more rapid progression of renal disease. We aimed to find out whether dietary manipulation can correct the hyperlipidaemia found in these patients. After a baseline control period of 8 weeks on their usual diets, 20 untreated patients with chronic glomerular diseases, stable long-lasting severe proteinuria (5.9 [SD 3.4] g/24 h) and hyperlipidaemia (mean serum cholesterol 8.69 [3.34] mmol/l) ate a vegetarian soy diet for 8 weeks. The diet was low in fat (28% of total calories) and protein (0.71 [0.36] g/kg ideal body weight daily), cholesterol free, and rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (polyunsaturated/saturated ratio 2.5) and in fibre (40 g/day). After the diet period the patients resumed their usual diets for 8 weeks (washout period). During the soy-diet period there were significant falls in serum cholesterol (total, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein) and apolipoproteins A and B, but serum triglyceride concentrations did not change. Urinary protein excretion fell significantly. The concentrations of all lipid fractions and the amount of proteinuria tended to return towards baseline values during the washout period. We do not know whether the favourable effect of this dietary manipulation on proteinuria was due to the qualitative or quantitative modifications of dietary protein intake or was a direct consequence of the manipulation of dietary lipid intake.

 

de Kok, T. M., et al. (1992). "Fecapentaene excretion and fecal mutagenicity in relation to nutrient intake and fecal parameters in humans on omnivorous and vegetarian diets." Cancer Lett 62(1): 11-21.

                Fecapentaenes are strong fecal mutagenic compounds presumably occurring in the majority of Western human individuals, and are possibly essential initiators of colon carcinogenesis. Dietary factors have been shown to influence colorectal cancer risk and to modulate both fecal mutagenicity and fecapentaene concentrations. Therefore, in this study, excretion of fecapentaenes is determined in humans consuming either vegetarian or omnivorous diets. The results show that the most predominant fecapentaene forms are excreted in higher concentrations by vegetarians. Consumption of cereal fiber, calcium and carotene as well as fecal concentrations of iso-lithocholic acid were found to correlate positively with excreted concentrations of one or more fecapentaene analogues. On average, 22% of excreted fecapentaene concentrations was found to be related to nutrient intake in stepwise regression models. Dietary calcium intake was found to be the most significant factor positively correlating with excreted fecapentaene concentrations. Intake of mono-unsaturated fatty acids or fiber from vegetables and fruit could be shown to correlate with fecapentaene excretion to a lesser degree. Despite high fecapentaene concentrations in fecal dichloromethane extracts, only 1 out of 20 samples revealed significant mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium TA 100. Further, aqueous extracts of feces from omnivores appeared to be equally mutagenic as feces from vegetarians and contained non-detectable concentrations of fecapentaenes. It is concluded that dietary factors do affect excreted fecapentaene levels, but only to a relatively minor extent. Since vegetarians at low risk for colorectal cancer excrete higher concentrations of fecapentaenes, it could be hypothesized that relatively increased fecapentaene excretion in combination with antimutagenic compounds in feces represents colon cancer prevention.

 

Finch, P. J., et al. (1992). "Blunted seasonal variation in serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and increased risk of osteomalacia in vegetarian London Asians." Eur J Clin Nutr 46(7): 509-515.

                Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were measured in 297 adult Asians and 68 white subjects at different times of year and seasonal variation compared between subjects grouped according to ethnic origin, religion and dietary habit. A sub-group of Asians with symptoms and biochemical changes suggestive of osteomalacia underwent bone biopsy, and static bone histomorphometry was performed. Histological osteomalacia was detected in 15 Asians and borderline changes in 13. The majority of these cases were among vegetarian Hindus. Significant seasonal variation in 25-hydroxy vitamin D was observed in all groups, but with lower peak and trough levels among Asians, and especially the Hindus and vegetarian Asians. Summer rises in 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were blunted among Hindus and vegetarian Asians, compared to whites, Muslims and non-vegetarian Asians. Vegetarian Asians had significantly lower serum calcium and higher PTH levels than non-vegetarians, but multivariate analysis indicated that this was an effect of osteomalacia, not vegetarianism. We conclude that solar exposure has a significant effect on vitamin D status in Asians resident in London. Non-vegetarian Asians have similar rise and peak levels to whites, but those taking a vegetarian diet (in particular, Hindus) have an impaired seasonal rise in 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels, and are at particular risk of metabolic bone disease. This effect did not appear to be mediated through secondary hyperparathyroidism consequent on a vegetarian diet.

 

Gilois, C., et al. (1992). "The hematological and electrophysiological effects of cobalamin. Deficiency secondary to vegetarian diets." Ann N Y Acad Sci 669: 345-348.

               

Johansson, G., et al. (1992). "Changing from a mixed diet to a Scandinavian vegetarian diet: effects on nutrient intake, food choice, meal pattern and cooking methods." Eur J Clin Nutr 46(10): 707-716.

                Twenty healthy, non-smoking, normal-weight omnivores volunteered for a nutrition counselling programme and changed from a mixed to a Scandinavian lactovegetarian diet. Dietary surveys were performed before and 3, 6 and 12 months after the dietary shift. The major trends when changing from a mixed diet to a lactovegetarian diet included an increase in the consumption of fruits, berries, vegetables, herbal tea and dairy products, and a decrease in the intake of biscuits and buns, sweets, alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea. There was a total absence of fish, eggs and meat products at 3 and 6 months after the dietary shift. At 12 months after the dietary shift two subjects ate small amounts of these animal products. The energy intake decreased throughout the study. The nutrient intake showed the greatest change between the period before and 3 months after the dietary shift. Between 3, 6 and 12 months after the dietary shift there were only minor changes. The observed change in meal pattern is associated with the change in consumption of various food items, the change in nutrient intake and the change in food preparation methods. Further studies should try to clarify the relationship between meal pattern and food intake, nutrient intake and food preparation methods, because counselling on meal pattern most certainly is more rapid and more easily understood than counselling on food and nutrient intake.

 

Johansson, G., et al. (1992). "The effect of a shift from a mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet on human urinary and fecal mutagenic activity." Carcinogenesis 13(2): 153-157.

                This is an investigation of the effects of a shift from a well-balanced mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet on the mutagenic activity in urine and feces. The participants were 20 normal-weight, non-smoking subjects (4 men and 16 women, mean age 44 years, range 27-61 years). The fecal samples were assayed for direct-acting mutagens with the fluctuation test for weak mutagens and the urinary samples were assayed with the same assay but with a metabolic activation system, a so-called S9 fraction. The switch from a mixed diet to a lacto-vegetarian diet was not a shift from a so-called high to a low risk diet for colon cancer but rather from a 'medium high risk diet' to a 'low risk diet', even though there were significant changes in nutrients and food components between the two diets. There was a decrease in fat (P = 0.009) and protein intake (P = 0.04) and an increase in total carbohydrate (P = 0.001), fiber (P = 0.001), calcium (P = 0.006) and vitamin C intake (P = 0.019). Among the food preparation methods the use of frying decreased (P = 0.02) and the habit of eating a new vegetable meal increased (P = 0.05). Three months after the dietary shift the concentration of fecal direct-acting mutagens decreased significantly (P less than 0.05), though the total mutagenic activity excreted in feces per 24 h was not different between the two diet periods. Both the concentration and the total amount of promutagens in the urine were decreased after 3 months on the lacto-vegetarian diet. The decrease in fecal mutagenic activity might be explained by a higher fiber intake, which leads to higher water content in feces and thereby a dilution of fecal mutagenic compounds.

 

Johnston, P. K., et al. (1992). "The Vegetarian Adolescent." Adolesc Med 3(3): 417-438.

                Ecologic and philosophic as well as health concerns have led to an increasing number of adolescent vegetarians. The various types of vegetarianism differ substantially in dietary composition. Benefits of the vegetarian diet must be balanced by careful attention to ensuring adequate intake of protein and amino acids as well as certain vitamins and minerals that tend to be less available in plant foods.

 

Lentze, M. J. (1992). "[Vegetarian and outsider diets in childhood]." Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax 81(9): 254-258.

                Nutrition of children on vegetarian diet is considered to be adequate and well-balanced when the diet contains dairy products and eggs. A severe or strict vegetarian diet (i.e. vegan or macrobiotic diet) is not suitable for babies or infants. Serious deficiency-states have been described after such regimens i.e. rickets, osteoporosis, anemia and growth retardation. Under ovo-lacto-vegetarian diets growth- and weight-measurements at regular intervals are recommended over the first two years of life. Critical food-components in vegetarians are: energy, protein, calcium, vitamins D and B12 and iron. An ovo-lacto-vegetarian diet provides an adequate supply with these substances with the exception of iron. A benevolent information about eventual deficiency states by the physician aids in keeping children thriving well and assures parents that their children will not incur damages.

 

Leon, A., et al. (1992). "Hypokalaemic episodic polymyopathy in cats fed a vegetarian diet." Aust Vet J 69(10): 249-254.

                A previously undocumented hypokalaemic condition with a cyclical nature, comprising acute bouts of polymyopathy followed by spontaneous recoveries, is described in the cat. Cats being fed a high protein vegetarian diet developed recurrent episodes of polymyopathy, characterised by ventroflexion of the head and neck, stiff forelimb gait, lateral head-resting and generalised muscle weakness. Plasma potassium concentrations (mean +/- standard deviation) were reduced from 3.28 +/- 0.33 mmol/l at the beginning of the experiment to 2.45 +/- 0.24 mmol/l during bouts of myopathy. This hypokalaemia was associated with increased creatine kinase activities indicative of muscle damage, and decreased urinary potassium concentrations, and was caused by insufficient dietary potassium. Cats that received the same diet supplemented with potassium did not develop hypokalaemic polymyopathy. Spontaneous recoveries of affected cats were not associated consistently with increases in plasma potassium concentrations. Plasma taurine concentrations decreased and glutamic acid increased markedly in all cats fed the experimental diet. There was no evidence of thiamin deficiency associated with the high glutamic acid intake. Veterinarians should be aware that hypokalaemic cats, and in particular those on potassium-deficient diets, may show cyclical disease with episodes of polymyopathy recurring after periods of spontaneous clinical recovery. This condition in cats may be a useful animal model for familial hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in humans.

 

Persky, V. W., et al. (1992). "Hormone levels in vegetarian and nonvegetarian teenage girls: potential implications for breast cancer risk." Cancer Res 52(3): 578-583.

                Between September 1984 and June 1985, a total of 75 adolescent girls, 35 vegetarians residing in a Seventh-Day Adventist school and 40 nonvegetarians residing in a private non-Adventist boarding school, underwent measurement of their plasma hormone levels in the follicular and luteal phase of their menstrual cycles as well as dietary intake measured by 3-day food records, medical history, height, and weight. There were no significant differences between vegetarians and nonvegetarians in average age of the girls, weight, body mass index, age at menarche, years since the onset of menstruation, or percentage of girls with ovulatory cycles. Vegetarian girls had significantly higher levels of log follicular estradiol [2.00 +/- 0.27 (SD) versus 1.85 +/- 0.27 pg/ml, P less than or equal to 0.05] and luteal dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHS) (1.88 +/- 0.71 versus 1.45 +/- 0.80 microgram/ml, P less than or equal to 0.05) than nonvegetarian girls. Follicular DHS was higher in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians (1.72 +/- 0.79 versus 1.45 +/- 0.95 microgram/ml), but the difference was not significant. The differences in follicular and luteal DHS, but not the difference in log estradiol, were significant (P less than or equal to 0.05) after controlling for ovulation, smoking, and alcohol intake with multivariable regression analysis. There were no significant differences in testosterone or in percentage free estradiol levels between vegetarians and nonvegetarians. Smoking was significantly associated with follicular and luteal DHS and with percentage free follicular estradiol, while alcohol use was significantly and inversely associated with percentage free follicular estradiol after controlling for other variables. The implications for breast cancer risk are discussed.

 

Raben, A., et al. (1992). "Serum sex hormones and endurance performance after a lacto-ovo vegetarian and a mixed diet." Med Sci Sports Exerc 24(11): 1290-1297.

                Serum sex hormones and endurance performance after a lacto-ovo vegetarian and a mixed diet. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 24, No. 11, pp. 1290-1297, 1992. The effect of a lacto-ovo vegetarian (V) and a mixed, meat-rich (M) diet on the level of serum sex hormones, gonadotropins, and endurance performance of eight male endurance athletes was investigated in a 2 x 6 wk cross-over study. The energy contribution from carbohydrate, fat, and protein was 58%, 27%, and 15% on the V diet and 58%, 28%, and 14 E% on the M diet. For total fasting serum testosterone (T) there was a significant interaction between diet and time (P < 0.01). Thus, the V diet resulted in a lower total T level (13.7, 9.8-32.4 nmol.l-1) (median and range) compared with the M diet (17.4, 11.8-33.5 nmol.l-1). During exercise after 6 wk on the diets total T was also significantly lower on the V than on the M diet (P < 0.05). Serum free testosterone, however, did not differ significantly during the 6 wk dietary intervention periods and neither did serum concentrations of sex hormone binding globulin, dihydrotestosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, 4-androstenedione, estrone, estradiol, estrone sulphate, or gonadotropins. Endurance performance time was higher for six and lower for two after the mixed diet compared with the vegetarian diet. This was not significant, however. In conclusion, 6 wk on a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet caused a minor decrease in total testosterone and no significant changes in physical performance in male endurance athletes compared with 6 wk on a mixed, meatrich diet.

 

Reddy, S. and T. A. Sanders (1992). "Lipoprotein risk factors in vegetarian women of Indian descent are unrelated to dietary intake." Atherosclerosis 95(2-3): 223-229.

                Dietary intakes, anthropometric indices and plasma lipoprotein and alpha-tocopherol concentrations were measured in premenopausal vegetarian women of Indian descent (n = 22) and in white women of European descent consuming either mixed (n = 22) or vegetarian diets (n = 18). The Indian women were shorter in height than the white women and had a higher proportion of body fat. Energy intakes were lower in the Indian women, both in absolute terms and per kg body weight. The proportion of energy derived from saturated fatty acids was lower and that from polyunsaturated fatty acids was greater in both Indian and white vegetarians compared with the subjects on mixed diets. Intakes of dietary fibre and vitamins C and E were higher in the white vegetarians compared with the other groups. Plasma concentrations of total and LDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B and the ratio of apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein AI were lower and HDL and HDL2 cholesterol, alpha-tocopherol concentrations and the ratio of alpha-tocopherol/cholesterol were greater in the white vegetarian group than in the other groups. Total plasma cholesterol was associated with measures of truncal obesity, especially subscapular skinfold thickness and the percentage energy derived from saturated fatty acids. Plasma concentrations of apo(a) were higher and those of HDL and HDL2 cholesterol and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) were lower in the Indian vegetarian women compared with both groups of white women. No relationship could be found between apo(a), HDL and HDL2 cholesterol concentration and nutrient intake but HDL and HDL2 were negatively associated with the proportion of body fat and apo(a) weakly with subscapular skinfold thickness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

 

Sanders, T. A. and S. Reddy (1992). "The influence of a vegetarian diet on the fatty acid composition of human milk and the essential fatty acid status of the infant." J Pediatr 120(4 Pt 2): S71-77.

                Vegan and vegetarian diets supply higher amounts of linoleic acid than those of omnivores. Intakes of alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3) are variable, depending on the oils used, but are generally high in vegans. Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) (DHA) is absent from vegan and many vegetarian diets. Cord plasma and cord artery phospholipid levels of Hindu vegetarians contained less DHA and more docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6) compared with those of omnivore control subjects. These differences in fatty acid composition were not statistically related to differences in birth weight, head circumference, or length. In human milk from vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores, the mean percentage in total fatty acids of 18:2n-6 was 23.8%, 19.7%, and 10.9%, respectively; that of 18:3n-3 was 1.36%, 1.25%, and 0.49%, respectively; and that of 22:6n-3 was 0.14%, 0.30%, and 0.37%, respectively. The proportion of DHA in erythrocyte total lipids of infants breast-fed by vegans was 1.9% compared with 3.7% in infants fed a milk formula containing butterfat as the sole source of fat and 6.2% in infants breast-fed by omnivores at 14 weeks postpartum. The ratio of linoleic/alpha-linolenic acid in the diet was predictive of the proportion of eicosapentaenoic acid but not that of DHA in infant red blood cell lipids. It is concluded that the intakes of linoleic acid and DHA are the major determinants of the proportion of DHA in plasma and red blood cell lipids.

 

Shigemasa, C., et al. (1992). "Effect of vegetarian diet on systemic lupus erythematosus." Lancet 339(8802): 1177.

               

Tesar, R., et al. (1992). "Axial and peripheral bone density and nutrient intakes of postmenopausal vegetarian and omnivorous women." Am J Clin Nutr 56(4): 699-704.

                The study investigated whether differences exist between postmenopausal Caucasian vegetarian and omnivorous women regarding trabecular and cortical bone density measured with single- and dual-photon absorptiometry. Anthropometric measurements, blood and urine samples, and food intakes of the twenty-eight matched pairs were also compared. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated no significant differences in bone measurements between vegetarians and omnivores at any sites except the skull. The vegetarians' serum globulin and total protein measured higher. Urine calcium and creatinine were similar between the groups. The vegetarians consumed greater quantities of carbohydrate, fiber, magnesium, ascorbic acid, copper, and energy as percent carbohydrate, and lower quantities of protein, niacin, alcohol, vitamin B-12, cholesterol, and energy as percent protein. Despite several differences in dietary intakes, the results indicate that neither cortical nor trabecular bone density in these postmenopausal women was affected by a lactoovovegetarian diet.