A vegetarian diet is healthy if it is carefully planned. If a vegetarian diet is too restricted, it may be unhealthy. Certain essential nutrients are harder for vegetarians to get from plant foods. You may need to make a special effort to get enough calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin B-12. It also can be difficult to get an adequate amount of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids. This is especially true if NO animal products (not even dairy products or eggs) are included in the diet.
Calcium
milligrams (mg) calcium/day
Adults 19 to 50 1000
Women 51 to 70 1200
Men 51 to 70 1000
Adults over 70 1200
Iron
mg iron/day
Men 19 and older 8
Women 19 to 50 18
Pregnant women 27
Breast-feeding women 9
Women over 50 8
Zinc
mg zinc/day
Men 19 and older 11
Women 19 and older 12
Pregnant women 15
Breast-feeding women 19
Iodine
micrograms (mcg) iodine/day
Men 19 and older 150
Women 19 and older 150
Pregnant women 220*
Breast-feeding women 290*
* It’s very important to speak to your doctor about a
prenatal vitamin that contains enough iodine to meet
the increased needs for pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Vitamin B-12
mcg vitamin B-12/day
Pregnant and breast-feeding women 2.6 to 2.8
All other adults 2.4
Vitamin D
mg or international units (IU) vitamin D/day
Adults up to 70 years old 15 mcg, or 600 IU
Adults 71 and over 20 mcg, or 800 IU
--------------------------------------------------------
CALCIUM mg per serving ------------------------------------------------------ Legumes (1/2 cup cooked) Navy beans 60 Black beans 46 Vegetarian baked beans 64 Soy foods (1/2 cup) Cultured soy yogurt, fortified 367 Tofu 120 to 430 Soy milk, calcium fortified 100 to 159 Soy nuts 120 Nuts and seeds Almonds, 1/4 cup 88 Almond butter, 2 tablespoons 86 Vegetables (1 cup cooked) Broccoli 79 Collard greens 239 Turnip greens 208 Fruits Dried figs, 5 137 Calcium-fortified orange juice, 1 cup 300 Dairy Cow's milk, 1/2 cup 137 to 158 Cheddar cheese, 1/4 oz 153 Yogurt, plain, 1/2 cup 137 to 230 Yogurt, flavored, 1 cup 280 to 300 IRON mg per serving ------------------------------------------------------ Breads, cereals, and grains Whole wheat bread, 1 slice 0.9 Cereal, fortified, 1 cup 2.1 to 18 Oatmeal, instant, 1/2 cup 1.6 Vegetables (1/2 cup) Broccoli 0.9 Bok choy 0.7 Tomato juice, 1 cup 0.7 Turnip greens 0.6 Legumes (1/2 cup cooked) Baked beans, vegetarian 1.7 Black beans 1.8 Navy beans 2.3 Soy foods (1/2 cup) Soybeans, cooked 4.4 Tofu 6.6 Soy milk 0.4 to 1.0 Nuts/seeds (1/4 cup) Cashews 1.5 Pumpkin seeds 5.2 Sunflower seeds 2.3 Other foods Blackstrap molasses, 1 tablespoon 3.5 ZINC mg per serving ------------------------------------------------------ Breads, grains, and cereals Cereal, fortified 1 oz 0.7 to 15 Wheat germ, 2 tablespoons 1.8 Legumes (1/2 cup cooked) Adzuki beans 2.0 Baked beans, canned 1.8 Lima beans 0.9 Lentils 1.2 Soy foods (1/2 cup cooked) Soybeans 1.0 Tofu 1.0 Veggie meats, 1 oz 1.2 to 2.3 Vegetables (1/2 cup cooked) Peas 1.0 Mushrooms 0.7 IODINE mcg per serving ------------------------------------------------------ Iodized salt 90 (1/4 teaspoon) Sea Vegetables varies widely Vitamin mineral supplements varies widely VITAMIN D mcg per serving -------------------------------------------------------- Cereals, fortified, 1 oz 0.5 to 1 Egg yolk, large, 1 0.6 Cow's milk, fortified 1.2 to 1.3 Soy milk, fortified, 1/2 cup 0.5 to 1.5 RIBOFLAVIN mg per serving -------------------------------------------------------- Almonds, 1/4 cup 0.3 Cereal, fortified, 1 oz 0.2 to 1.7 Cow's milk, 1/2 cup 0.2 Yogurt, 1/2 cup 0.3 Egg, large, 1 0.6 Mushrooms, cooked, 1/2 cup 0.2 Nutritional yeast miniflakes, 1 tablespoon 1.9 Soy milk, fortified, 1/2 cup 0.2 VITAMIN B-12 mcg per serving --------------------------------------------------------- Cereals, fortified, 1 oz 0.6 to 6.0 Cow's milk, 1/2 cup 0.4 to 0.5 Egg, large, 1 0.5 Nutritional yeast miniflakes, 1 tablespoon 1.5 Soy milk, fortified, 1/2 cup 0.4 to 1.6 Veggie "meats," fortified, 1 oz 0.5 to 1.2 LINOLENIC ACID (OMEGA-3 FATTY-ACIDS) grams per serving ----------------------------------------------------------- Canola oil, 1 tablespoon 1.3 to 1.6 Flaxseed, ground, 1 tablespoon 1.9 to 2.2 Flaxseed oil, 1 teaspoon 2.7 Soybean oil, 1 tablespoon 0.9 Soybeans, cooked, 1/2 cup 1.0 Tofu, 1/2 cup 0.7 Walnuts, 1/4 cup 2.7 Walnut oil, 1 tablespoon 1.4 to 1.7 ------------------------------------------------------