The Gießen Vegan Food Pyramid
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Copyright! Reproduction and dissemination – also partial – applicable to all media only with written permission of Umschau Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH, Wiesbaden. Science & Research | Original Contribution Peer-reviewed | Manuscript received: 13.06.2017 | Revision accepted: 25.04.2018 The Gießen Vegan Food Pyramid Stine Weder+, Caroline Schaefer+, Markus Keller takes of fat and protein exceed the Abstract recommendations whereas their The number of vegans has probably increased in the last few years. For a well-bal- intakes of carbohydrates are below anced vegan diet with an adequate nutrient intake, scientific based dietary rec- the reference values on average. The ommendations are necessary. With this background in mind, the Giessen Vegan average intakes of beta-carotene, Food Pyramid has been developed. It is based on the calculated nutrient intake of vitamin C and E, thiamine, folate, a 14-day vegan meal plan. Particular focus was on meeting the German Dietary biotin, pantothenic acid, potassium, Reference Values (DRV) for potential critical nutrients of a vegan diet, e. g. pro- magnesium, dietary fiber, and phy- tein, long-chain n-3-fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, calcium, iron, tochemicals are mostly higher or at zinc, iodine, and selenium. Based on the calculated mean intake quantities of the least similar to those of omnivorous meal plans, food groups and the daily intake recommendations were derived. control groups [9]. For almost all nutrients, the DRVs were reached or exceeded, except for vitamin In addition, many observational B12 and vitamin D, as expected. As a next step the Giessen Vegan Food Pyramid studies show that vegans (and veg- should be tested and evaluated in practice. etarians) show a lower risk for obe- Keywords: vegan diet, nutrient intake, nutrition counseling, Giessen Vegan sity, type-2-diabetes, hypertension, Food Pyramid metabolic syndrome, ischemic heart disease, and partially cancer, com- pared to omnivores [10–15]. These effects persist after adjusting for several confounders, e. g. BMI and age, but are slightly attenuated. Furthermore, the overall healthier Introduction and objectives lifestyle of vegans (less smoking, With the increasing public interest in lower alcohol consumption, more plant-based diets, the number of sci- physical activity) contributes to the entific publications studying vegan decreased disease risk [16]. diets has increased as well (PubMed However, there are some nutrients search, title ‘vegan’ [title/abstract] considered as critical in vegan diets. up to Dec 2010: 388 results, up to These include protein, vitamin B12, Dec 2015: 501, up to July 2018: calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B2, se- 662) [1, 2]. Exact data on the num- lenium, the long-chain n-3 fatty ber of vegans in Germany is lacking, acids (eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA], but according to estimates, approx- and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]), as imately 0.1–1.6% of the population well as iodine and vitamin D, which in Germany is living vegan, with a are generally considered critical nu- rising tendency [3–7]. trients in Germany [17]. Therefore, The current literature reveals that vegans should ensure a sufficient in- vegans tend to meet official dietary take of these critical nutrients. recommendations more often than Considering the benefits of a plant- the general population, especially based diet in addition to the increas- Citation: regarding the intake of vegetables, ing popularity amongst the pop- Weder S, Schaefer C, Keller M fruit and (whole) grain products ulation, it is necessary to provide (2018) The Gießen vegan food [8]. On average, vegans are often scientific-based diet recommenda- pyramid. Ernahrungs Umschau more closely in accordance with the tions, which can be implemented 65(8): 134–143 reference values for energy, protein, by vegans in their daily meal plan This article is available online: fat and carbohydrates intake (per- and serve as basis for nutrition DOI: 10.4455/eu.2018.031 centages of energy [%E] and g/d), counseling. Therefore, we aimed compared to omnivores whose in- to develop a vegan food pyramid, 134 Ernaehrungs Umschau international | 8/2018 Copyright! Reproduction and dissemination – also partial – applicable to all media only with written permission of Umschau Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH, Wiesbaden. in order to maximize the potential DRV. Figure 1 illustrates the nu- Nutrients health benefits of a vegan diet and to trient intakes of the analyzed plans The target value of the TEI was minimize the potential health risks. relative to the DRV. Examples for reached. Carbohydrate intake was the daily meal plans are shown in slightly lower than recommended Table 3 (see end of the article). (96%). However, the intakes of pro- Methods Based on a broad selection of practi- cal approved vegan recipes, a 14-day Energy, macronutrients, fiber and fatty acids meal plan was created. Central was Energy a wholesome nutrition, with realistic Proteinª food intake quantities and its practi- Fat cability for daily life. The evaluation Carbohydrates of the meal plan was performed with SFA OptiDiet Basic (GOE mbH). MUFA The aim was a total energy intake PUFA (TEI) of 2,050 kcal/d (2,300 kcal/d LA for men; 1,800 kcal/d for women, ALA Fiber age 25–50 years; physical activity 0 50 100 150 200 250 level [PAL] of 1.4) [18]. Intake goals for macro- and micronutrients also Vitamins were based on the German DRV for adults aged 25–50 years. If there were Retinol different recommendations for men Vitamin D Vitamin E and women, the higher DRV was tar- Vitamin K geted (e. g. iron DRV for women). Vitamin B After a first calculation, the meal Vitamin B plans were modified in order to op- Niacin timize the nutrient intake. For ex- Vitamin B6 ample, the TEI had to be increased Folate to reach 2,050 kcal/d. To enhance Pantothenic acid the calcium intake, plant-based Biotin Vitamin B milk alternatives enriched with cal- 12 Vitamin C cium and a daily consumption of 0 50 100 150 200 250 1.5 L of calcium-rich mineral water (460 mg Ca/L) were added to the Minerals meal plan. The daily intake recom- mendations of each food group and Sodium Potassium the consecutive composition of the Chloride Vegan Food Pyramid are the results Calcium of the mean values (x)̅ and the var- Phosphorus iability of the daily consumption Magnesium of the different food groups. Thus, Iron the recommended intake quantities Iodine should not exceed or fall below the Fluoride maximum and minimum quantities Zinc Copper of the food groups and should be as Manganese realistic as possible. 0 50 100 150 200 250 % of German Dietary Reference Values Results Fig. 1: Average energy and nutrient intake from 14-day meal plans, The intake quantities ( Table 1a–c) expressed as percentage of the German DRV a based on 48 g of protein intake per day were obtained after optimization ALA = α-linolenic acid; LA = linoleic acid; MUFA = monounsaturated fatty acids; in accordance with the German PUFA = polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFA = saturated fatty acids Ernaehrungs Umschau international | 8/2018 135 Copyright! Reproduction and dissemination – also partial – applicable to all media only with written permission of Umschau Zeitschriftenverlag GmbH, Wiesbaden. Science & Research | Original Contribution tein (118–144%) and fat (111%) ex- of vegan diets (except vitamin B12 supplementation. These indications ceeded the DRV. and Vitamin D) met the DRV suf- were phrased rather unspecific to Intakes of the essential fatty acids al- ficiently. facilitate the implementation. How- pha-linolenic acid (4.3%E) and linoleic ever, in some cases it was necessary acid (8.9%E) were quite high. The to give more specific recommenda- Food quantities average supply of folate, vitamin C, tions if supplementation is essential vitamin K, phosphorus, magnesium, From the optimized daily meal to meet the DRV of some nutrients. copper, and manganese exceeded the plans, recommendations for food In particular, the use of iodized salt DRV more than 2-fold. Furthermore, intake quantities were derived. Due has to be emphasized, as well as the the intakes of vitamin A (retinol-eq), to the similarities regarding food regular consumption of the algae vitamin E, vitamin B1, niacin, biotin, groups and intake recommenda- Nori (Ulva species) with a moder- vitamin B6, calcium, and fiber ex- tions, the existing Giessen Vegetar- ate iodine content. Used in form of ceeded the recommendations clearly ian Food Pyramid by Leitzmann and algae flakes, Nori can easily be im- (> 150%). However, none of the cal- Keller (2013) served as a basis [8]. plemented in everyday meal plans. culated nutrient intakes exceeded the In variation from that, the cate- Additionally, the pyramid points Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) of gory milk and dairy products was out the use of DHA-enriched linseed the European Agency for Food Safety replaced by plant-based milk and oil, calcium-rich mineral water (≥ (EFSA) [20]. dairy alternatives and the category 400 mg Ca/L) as well as calcium-en- Sodium intake (2.1 g/d) was lower vegetables was expanded by algae. riched plant-based milk alternatives. than the recommended maximum The derived intake recommendations Each recommendation is reflected daily intake of sodium for adults by ( Table 2) include specific infor- in the pyramid’s food groups (‘top’ the American Institute of Medicine mation regarding serving size and or ‘basis’, Figure 2). The Giessen (2.3 g/d) [21]. All critical nutrients consumption frequency as well as Vegan Food Pyramid visualizes the Energy/Nutrient Target value Calculated DRV compliance % of DRVa UL adults/day [18] intake (x̅ ± SD) [19, 20] Energy, macronutrients, fiber, fatty acids Energy kcal 2,050 2,083 ± 151 slightly exceeded 102 – Protein g ~ 48–57b 66.2 ± 7.8 exceeded 118–144 – Carbohydrates %E > 50 En% 48.1 ± 3.0 slightly below 96 – Fiber g ≥ 30 49.2 ± 8.1 substantially 164 – exceeded Fat %E 30 33.3 ± 2.9 exceeded 111 – SFA %E ≤ 10 5.2 ± 0.8 fulfilled 52 – MUFA %E total fat intake 14.0 ± 2.9 exceeded 108 – − (PUFA + SFA) (at 13%E) (approx.