Author(s): Nazim Saifi, Saad Ahmed and Yusuf Jamal

Abstract:

Different diets have different effects on thyroid hormone synthesis. There is increasing perception among people that vegetarian diet is balanced and healthy diet and prevents from various chronic diseases. But it is also fact that strict vegetarian (vegan) diet is deficient of many major nutrients like calcium, vitamin D3, zinc and iodine. Iodine content in food of plant origin (vegetarian diet) is lower in comparison with that of animal origin due to a low iodine concentration in soil. Iodine deficiency is prevalent in many mountainous regions and in central Africa, central South America, and northern Asia. In areas of relative iodine deficiency, there is an increased prevalence of goiter and, when deficiency is severe, hypothyroidism and cretinism. In this study, one hundred (100) young healthy volunteers on lacto-vegetarian and non vegetarian diets were randomly selected to find out the relation between thyroid hormones (FT3 and FT4) & Individuals with lacto-vegetarian and non vegetarian diets. Based on the various observations it was found that Mean of FT3 and FT4 levels in different diets were almost equal. Mean of FT3 value in non-vegetarian diet (2.06±0.38) is slightly higher than lacto-vegetarian diet (2.04±0.40). Mean of FT4 values in both lacto-vegetarian (0.82±0.31) and non-vegetarian diet (0.87±0.29) were almost same with minor difference. The study showed that there is no correlation between Lacto-vegetarian diet and FT3 & FT4, which reflects that lacto-vegetarian people of Delhi are not iodine deficient; the reason may be as they consume salt which is fortified with iodine.

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