Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents 2022 | Dietary Guidelines for Vegetarians

Vegetarians refer to those who do not eat animal foods such as livestock and poultry meat, aquatic products, etc., mainly including vegans and lacto-ovo vegetarians.

Vegetarians should carefully design their meals, use food rationally, and combine them appropriately to ensure that nutritional needs are met and health is promoted; they should also monitor their nutritional status regularly to detect potential nutritional problems as early as possible and adjust their diet structure in a timely manner. Properly designed and arranged meals can effectively avoid nutrient deficiencies. The recommended dietary composition for vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian adults in the vegetarian dietary guidelines is as follows:

【Core Recommendation】

1. Eat a variety of foods, with cereals as the main component; increase the amount of whole grains appropriately.

2. Increase the intake of soybeans and their products, and choose fermented soybean products.

3. Eat nuts, seaweed and mushrooms often.

4. There should be sufficient vegetables and fruits.

5. Choose cooking oil wisely.

6. Monitor nutritional status regularly.

【Practical Application】

1. How to achieve food diversity

Vegetarians should carefully plan their meals and achieve food diversity. They should choose grains, soy and its products, vegetables, fruits and nuts in appropriate combinations every day. They should consume at least 12 types of food every day and at least 25 types of food every week.
You can increase the number of food varieties by exchanging similar foods, matching coarse and fine ingredients, and matching colors. Using small-portion tableware when dining can also naturally increase the variety of food at each meal.
Eggs and milk are rich in high-quality protein and have a high nutrient density. Vegetarians are advised to choose them as much as possible to make their food more diverse.

2. How to increase the intake of cereal foods

1. Eat cereals at every meal

Cereals are a key part of vegetarian diets and should be better enjoyed by vegetarians, such as rice, pasta, etc., with no less than 100g (raw food) per meal. The insufficient amount can be supplemented by snacks, extra meals and refreshments.

2. Eat whole grains and beans every day

Half of the staple food of vegetarians should be whole grains and beans, and the proportion of refined rice and flour should be reduced. It is appropriate to buy whole grains, such as whole wheat flour, tender corn, oats, etc. Whole grains can be cooked and eaten with other foods, and the taste is better. For example, whole grain porridge, corn grits, millet and mung bean porridge are loved by many people.

3. Don’t forget potatoes

Potatoes, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, are rich in carbohydrates and can be eaten as a substitute for staple food. They can also increase the intake of dietary fiber, potassium, etc.

3. How to use soybean food rationally

1. Multiple varieties and different styles

There are many kinds of food prepared from soybeans, and soybeans and their products can be arranged in three meals a day in different ways. For example, drinking a cup of soybean milk in the morning, eating fried bean sprouts at noon, and eating cabbage stewed with tofu at night can easily meet your needs. Adding a handful of soaked soybeans when steaming rice or cooking not only increases the taste, but also easily increases the intake; in many areas, there is a habit of eating "fried soybeans" as snacks, which is also a choice for vegetarians.

2. Fermented soy products are essential

Fermented soy products are made from soybeans through microbial fermentation. Fermented soy products contain vitamin B12. It is recommended that vegans consume 5-10g of fermented soy products per day, such as soy sauce, fermented bean curd, fermented black beans, stinky tofu, and bean paste.

3. Smart Matching

Eating beans and cereals together can complement each other's proteins and significantly improve the nutritional value of proteins. For example, bean noodles commonly eaten by residents in northern China are made from wheat flour and soybean flour; hybrid flour steamed bread is made from a mixture of corn, millet flour, soybean flour, etc., and its protein nutritional value is comparable to that of meat.

4. Reasonable processing and cooking

Eating soy products has higher nutritional value than eating whole cooked soybeans because the protein digestibility of soy products is higher. Soybeans and their products must be fully heated and cooked before consumption to destroy the trypsin inhibitor in them and improve the protein digestibility.

4. Eating mushrooms and algae regularly

Fresh vegetables and fruits are also very important. It is recommended to have vegetables at every meal and eat fruits every day. The daily intake should be diverse and sufficient, especially fungi and algae.

The rich vitamins and minerals in mushrooms can be used as an important source of vitamins (especially vitamin B12) and minerals (such as iron and zinc) for vegetarians. Algae are rich in long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (DHA, EPA, DPA) and can be used as one of the sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids for vegetarians; algae also contain very rich minerals and trace elements.

(V) How to choose cooking oil reasonably

Choose a variety of vegetable oils. Vegetarians are prone to lack of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, so they should pay attention to choosing edible oils rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, perilla oil, walnut oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil.

It is recommended that vegetarians use rapeseed oil or soybean oil for cooking, and flaxseed oil, perilla oil and walnut oil for salad dressing to avoid oxidation of cooking oil.

6. How to avoid nutrient deficiency

The nutrients that vegetarians are prone to lacking include n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron and zinc. In order to avoid the deficiency of these nutrients, it is recommended to consciously choose and eat more foods rich in these nutrients or nutrient supplements.

For example, the main food sources of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are flaxseed oil, perilla oil, walnut oil, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, chia seed oil and some algae. The main food sources of vitamin B12 are fermented soy products and mushrooms; take vitamin B12 supplements when necessary. The main food sources of vitamin D are foods fortified with vitamin D; in addition, it is also recommended that everyone get more sun exposure. The main food sources of calcium are soybeans, sesame seeds, kelp, black fungus and green vegetables; as well as milk and dairy products (for lacto-ovo vegetarians). The main food sources of iron are black fungus, black sesame seeds, lentils, soybeans, nuts, amaranth, pea sprouts, spinach, etc.; in addition to recommending vegetarians to eat more of these foods with high iron content, I would also like to remind everyone that fruits and green leafy vegetables can provide rich vitamin C and folic acid, which can promote iron absorption and red blood cell synthesis. The main food sources of zinc are whole grains, soybeans, nuts and mushrooms.