CHAPTER THREE Vegetarian Diets Across the Lifecycle: Impact on Zinc Intake and Status Meika Foster, Samir Samman 1 Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 1 Corresponding author: e-mail address: samir.samman@otago.ac.nz Contents 1. Introduction 94 2. Definitions of Vegetarian Diets 95 3. Zinc Intake and Bioavailability 96 3.1 Phytate, zinc, and calcium 96 4. Mechanisms of Zinc Homeostasis 98 5. Determination of Zinc Status 99 6. Vegetarian Diets and Zinc Status in Healthy Adults 100 6.1 Prevalence of vegetarian diets in adults 100 6.2 Adaptations to a vegetarian diet 101 6.3 Comparative studies of zinc status in adults 102 7. Vegetarian Diets and Zinc Status in Pregnancy and Lactation 110 7.1 Comparative studies of zinc intake in pregnancy 110 7.2 Comparative studies of zinc biomarkers in pregnancy 112 7.3 Zinc status and functional outcome in pregnancy 113 7.4 Zinc status during lactation 113 8. Vegetarian Diets and Zinc Status in Children 114 8.1 Prevalence of vegetarian diets in children 115 8.2 Comparative studies of zinc status in children 116 8.3 Infants 116 8.4 Young children 118 8.5 Adolescents 119 9. Vegetarian Diets and Zinc Status in the Elderly 120 9.1 Comparative studies of zinc status in the elderly 120 10. Limitations and Further Research 122 11. Conclusion 123 References 123 Advances in Food and Nutrition Research, Volume 74 # 2015 Elsevier Inc. ISSN 1043-4526 All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.afnr.2014.11.003 93