What nutrients are vegetarians easy to lack？ Scientific diet should pay attention to these.

　　Nowadays, vegetarianism is highly respected by many people. Generally speaking, vegetarians are usually divided into two types, one is egg milk element that does not eat meat but eats eggs and milk (or eats eggs without dairy products, or eats dairy products without eggs); The other is a vegan who doesn’t eat animal food at all. However, from the health point of view, vegetarians are prone to lack certain nutrients, especially vegan diet, which is not worth promoting.

　　Iron deficiency The main food sources of iron are animal blood, liver and lean meat, among which iron is heme iron, which has high absorption and utilization rate; However, plant foods such as auricularia auricula, laver and mushroom are mainly non-heme iron, although their iron content is high, and their absorption and utilization rate is low. Therefore, vegetarians are prone to iron deficiency, especially women, because childbirth and menstruation will increase iron excretion, which will lead to insufficient iron storage in the body and lead to iron deficiency anemia. Vitamin C is helpful for the absorption and utilization of non-heme iron in human body. Vegetarians are advised to eat more fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C, such as green peppers, fresh dates, strawberries and kiwis.

　　Vitamin B12 deficiency. This vitamin can nourish nerves, and if it is lacking, it will easily cause megaloblastic anemia and increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Vitamin B12 mainly exists in animal food, fermented food and mushroom food, and almost no such nutrition is contained in unfermented plant food. For vegetarians who eat dairy products and eggs, they can get enough vitamin B12 even if they don’t eat other animal foods. However, for vegetarians who don’t eat eggs and dairy products, although vitamin B12 is contained in fermented foods and bacteria and algae foods, its absorption and utilization rate is not as good as that of animal foods. Therefore, it is suggested that vegetarians should add fermented bean products, such as natto, fermented bean curd, fermented soybean, etc., and should also cooperate with nutritional supplements and fortified foods.

　　Calcium deficiency. Egg-milk vegetarians will not be short of calcium as long as they ensure the intake of dairy products, soybeans and green leafy vegetables, because dairy products are the best dietary source of calcium; For vegans, because they don’t eat dairy products, they lack some calcium sources, so they need to eat more calcium-rich foods, such as shredded tofu, dried tofu, yuba and green leafy vegetables. At the same time, we should pay attention to outdoor activities, promote the synthesis of vitamin D and increase the absorption and utilization of calcium. In addition, it is suggested to blanch vegetables to remove oxalic acid which is not conducive to calcium absorption; When cooking coarse grains, it is best to brew them in advance, and pour off the water for soaking beans and grains to reduce oxalic acid that affects calcium absorption; If the demand for calcium cannot be met, it is recommended to take calcium preparation.

　　Zinc deficiency. For vegetarians, the risk of zinc deficiency is higher than that of egg-milk vegetarians, and the zinc content in polished rice, vegetables and fruits is lower, but nuts and coarse grains are good sources of zinc, such as black sesame seeds and pine nuts. Fermented bean products are also a good source of zinc, because phytic acid is decomposed after fermentation, which reduces the obstacle to zinc absorption. Therefore, vegetarians, especially vegans, can appropriately increase the intake of these foods, but pay attention to controlling the intake of nut foods to prevent excessive fat intake and increase the risk of obesity. It is recommended to eat only a small handful every day.

　　Lack of quality protein. Cereals, vegetables, fruits, fungi and algae, beans and their products are all important sources of vegetarian protein, but the low content of protein in cereals, fungi and algae, especially vegetables and fruits, easily leads to the lack of high-quality protein; In addition, protein in cereals lacks lysine and legumes lacks methionine, which can improve the absorption and utilization rate of protein. Vegetarians are advised to increase the intake of beans and their products and eat them with cereals.

　　Generally speaking, compared with vegans, egg and milk vegetarians are easy to maintain nutrient balance, but the iron absorption rate is low, so we should pay attention to prevent iron deficiency anemia. In addition to paying attention to iron supplementation, vegans should also pay attention to preventing the lack of high-quality nutrients such as protein, zinc and vitamin B12, and develop a scientific diet mode to ensure balanced nutrition.