Vegetarians of all types can achieve recommended nutrient intakes through careful selection of foods. These individuals should give special attention to their intakes of protein, iron, and vitamin B12, as well as calcium and vitamin D if avoiding milk products. In addition, vegetarians could select only nuts, seeds, and legumes from the meat and beans group, or they could include eggs if so desired. At the 2,000calorie level, they could choose about ounces of nuts and 2 /3 cup legumes instead of ounces of meat, poultry, and/or fish. One egg, 1/2 ounce of nuts, or 1/4 cup of legumes is considered equivalent to 1 ounce of meat, poultry, or fish in the USDA Food Guide. Substitutions for Milk and Milk Products Since milk and milk products provide more than 70 percent of the calcium consumed by Americans, guidance on other choices of dietary calcium is needed for those who do not consume the recommended amount of milk products. Milk product consumption has been associated with overall diet quality and adequacy of intake of many nutri ents, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, riboflavin, vitamin A, folate, and vitamin D. People may avoid milk products because of allergies, cultural prac tices, taste, or other reasons. Those who avoid all milk products need to choose rich sources of the nutrients provided by milk, including potassium, vitamin A, and magnesium in addition to calcium and vitamin D (see app. B). Some nondairy sources of calcium are shown in appendix B4. The bioavailability of the calcium in these foods varies. .
