QUALITY OF A VEGETARIAN DIET PROVIDED DURING A RESIDENTIAL YOGA COURSE

Objectives: Aim of the study was to assess the quality of a lactoveget arian diet, provided during a three month residential yoga and meditat ion course, in terms of both its agreement with dietary recommendation s for preventing chronic disease and its nutrient adequacy. Setting: M ore and more people, for a variety of reasons, change to ,,alternative '' diets, which differ much more radically from the usual pattern than the recommendations issued by health authorities for reducing chronic disease. We studied such an ,,alternative'' diet, which, in our earli er studies, had been shown to contribute to a reduction in the levels of cardiovascular risk factors in the yoga course participants. Design : For every meal served during the three month course, all ingredients were weighed. The quantity of left-over foods was estimated as a perc entage of the total amount served. Taking into account the number of p ersons present during each meal, the average amount of the various foo ds consumed per person per meal was calculated. Results: The diet prov ided, on average, 1841 kcal per person per day and contained 23 en% fa t with a P/S ratio of 2.0 and 9 mg cholesterol per day. Relatively hig h daily intakes were found for fibre (62 g), for the anti oxidative vi tamins E (14 mg) and C (247 mg) and for retinol equivalents (4100 g). The average intakes of essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins we re adequate with the exception of the vitamin B12 intake, which was on ly 25% of the recommended intake. Conclusions: It is concluded that co nsumers of such a diet are likely to be better protected against the m ost common fatal diseases of affluent society than the ,,average'' con sumer. If this diet is consumed in sufficient quantities to meet energ y requirements, its nutrient content is adequate, provided also the in take of vitamin B12 is increased to an adequate level.