Eric follows a vegetarian eating pattern,and he wants to know whether he needs to take any vitamin and mineral supplements.What would be most important to find out?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

It would be important to find out whether Eric follows a vegan diet;strict vegan diets do not contain any vitamin B₁₂ (found only in animal products)and vitamin D (obtained mostly from fortified milk).Including complementary vegetable proteins would improve the overall quality of his protein intake but would not affect his vitamin and mineral intake.Regular skin exposure to sunlight would help manufacture some vitamin D,but would not help with vitamin B₁₂ status,and so the question of sun exposure is less important.Processed food may contain fewer micronutrients that natural foods,but this is less critical than whether he includes any animal foods in his diet.

Eric Follows a Vegetarian Eating Pattern,and He Wants to Know