Impact of tofu or tofu + orange juice on hematological indices of lacto-ovo vegetarian females

The purpose of this study was to investigate iron status of premenopausalvegetarian women consuming tofu or tofu plus orange juice. Following athree day pre-period, 14 lacto-ovo vegetarians were randomly divided intotwo experimental periods of 30 days each. For the first 30 days, one halfof the subjects (n = 7) received 6 oz (173 grams) of tofu/day (T) while theother half of the subjects (n = 7) received 6 oz of tofu/day along with303 mg of vitamin C/d (TO). After 30 days, there was a crossover ofthe diets. Iron status was assessed by measuring serum ferritin andhemoglobin concentrations on the first day of the study and at the end ofeach experimental period. The Mann Whitney-U test was significant duringthe first (W = 17.5; Z = –2.095; p = 0.0361) and over the second (W = 40.0; Z = –2.611; p = 0.009) experimental periods which indicated thechange in hemoglobin levels for the T and TO groups were different. Meanranks showed a greater increase in hemoglobin levels for the TO group.There was no significant difference in the change in serum ferritin levelsbetween the T and TO groups over the first and second experimentalperiods. In conclusion, bioavailability of iron from tofu is enhancedby supplementation with ascorbic acid.