The Relevance of Plant-Based Diets and Micronutrient Supplementation for Body Composition: Data from the VeggieNutri Cross-Sectional Study
Total protein intake significantly decreased with increasing strictness of vegetarian habits (median (P25; P75) in g/day: 98.6 (79.5; 123.1), 90.4 (65.9; 121.0), and 87.6 (59.8; 118.5) for OMNI, LOV and VEG, respectively; <i>p</i> = 0.020), and carbohydrate intake was the highest in LOV (median (P25; P75) in g/day: 231.5 (178.4; 287.9), 283.9 (227.3; 342.6), and 263.0 (222.0; 348.3) for OMNI, LOV and VEG, respectively; <i>p</i> = 0.001). VEG were the main users of B12 vitamin (93% in VEG vs. 17% in OMNI and 59% in LOV, <i>p</i> = 0.001), and LOV were the main users of iron supplements (29% in LOV vs. 14% in OMNI and 13% in VEG, <i>p</i> = 0.042), respectively. Blood levels of B12 vitamin correlated negatively with blood homocysteine (<i>r<sub>s</sub></i> = -0.386, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and positively with % muscle mass (<i>r<sub>s</sub></i> = 0.136, <i>p</i> = 0.005). Participants using iron supplements presented higher C-reactive protein (CRP) (<i>p</i> = 0.014) and they had lower % MM (<i>p</i> = 0.003). Finally, when compared to being OMNI, being LOV independently associated with: (a) having +4.8% (<i>p</i> = 0.002) of fat mass, which could be due to higher carbohydrate intake, and (b) having -2.2% (<i>p</i> = 0.043) of muscle mass. Our data suggest that the association between diet and muscle mass could be attenuated in VEG due to B12 supplementation and/or aggravated in LOV due to iron supplementation-associated inflammation.
Authors
- João Costa Leite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-0453)
- Teresa Amaral (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3998-6730)
- Catarina Ferreira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5093-0789)
- Joana Amaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4499-5524)
- Rita Negrão (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0733-4412)
- João Tiago Guimarães (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4836-6311)
- Cláudia Camila Dias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9356-3272)
- Isabella Bracchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1923-3579)
- Inês M. Rocha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0096-0290)
- Andréia Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6714-5939)
- Flávia Rodrigues da Silva (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3007-9795)
- Elisa Keating (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3904-9907)
- Ana Lucas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9177-7215)
- Altin Ndrio (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5683-7200)
- Cátia Pinheiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6190-0916)
- Juliana Guimarães
- Bruna Viegas
- Carina Martins
- Liliana Giesteira
- Ana Margarida Alexandre
- Bruna Dias
Institutions
- Fernando Pessoa University (PT)
- Universidade do Porto (PT)
- Hospital de São João (PT)
- Joint Research Centre (IT)
- Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Mangement (PT)
- Centre for Health Technology and Services Research (PT)
- Laboratório Associado de Energia, Transportes e Aeronáutica (PT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nutrients
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16193322
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.38
Funders
- Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia