{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T23:31:17Z","timestamp":1790724677935,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,28]],"date-time":"2026-06-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782604800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Scientific and Technological Projects in Advantageous and Characteristic Disciplines of Plant-based Food Processing Technology in Heilongjiang Province","award":["YSTSXK202407"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["YSTSXK202407"]}]},{"name":"Basic Scientific Research Funding Program for Provincial Universities in Heilongjiang Province","award":["145309212"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["145309212"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Data on the nutritional adequacy of unsupplemented vegetarians in Northeast China are limited. Methods: We compared dietary intake, body composition, and serum biomarkers among vegans, lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and omnivores. This cross-sectional study included 356 adults (all diet \u2265 2 years, no supplements). Dietary intake was assessed using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ, body composition by BIA, and serum biomarkers. Kruskal\u2013Wallis tests with Bonferroni correction were used. Results: Vegans had lower BMI (22.0 vs. 24.6 kg\/m2), body fat (24.5% vs. 28.0%), and visceral fat (0.65 vs. 1.05 L) than omnivores (all p &lt; 0.002). Vegans consumed more fiber (38.5 vs. 18.0 g\/d) and vitamin C (180 vs. 85 mg\/d), but less vitamin B12 (0.3 vs. 4.2 \u03bcg\/d), vitamin D (0.5 vs. 3.2 \u03bcg\/d), calcium (520 vs. 720 mg\/d), iodine (65 vs. 130 \u03bcg\/d), and selenium (45 vs. 85 \u03bcg\/d). Serum vitamin B12, 25-(OH)D, ferritin, and selenium were significantly lower in vegans, while homocysteine was higher. The proportion of vegans with dietary intake below the recommendation reached 100% for vitamin B12 and 97% for vitamin D, whereas omnivores showed excessive sodium (75%) and SFA (70%) intake. Conclusions: In this Northeast China cohort, unsupplemented vegetarian diets offered favorable macronutrient profiles and body composition but were associated with a high prevalence of dietary intakes below recommendations for vitamin B12, vitamin D, iodine, selenium, zinc, and calcium. These findings underscore the need for targeted supplementation and food fortification strategies for individuals adhering to plant-based diets without supplement use in this region.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu18132109","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,29]],"date-time":"2026-06-29T02:16:44Z","timestamp":1782699404000},"page":"2109","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Healthier Macronutrient Profiles but Higher Risk of Specific Micronutrient Deficiencies: A Cross-Sectional Study of Vegans, Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians and Omnivores in Northeast China"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"given":"Xin","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food and Biological Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food and Biological Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Miaoyu","family":"An","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food and Biological Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hongyan","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food and Biological Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Branch of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qiqihar 161005, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1674-7251","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Changbao","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Food and Biological Engineering, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar 161006, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)31788-4","article-title":"Food in the anthropocene: The EAT\u2013lancet commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems","volume":"393","author":"Walter","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet Comm."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3640","DOI":"10.1080\/10408398.2016.1138447","article-title":"Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies","volume":"57","author":"Dinu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Crit. 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