UK Study: Popular Dairy Alternatives Could Leave Many Short of Essential Nutrients
Researchers modeled dietary changes
The team assessed how these substitutions could affect four essential micronutrients. Their analysis considered differences among products and tested whether fortification might prevent inadequate intake without causing excessive nutrient consumption. It was the first UK study of its kind.
Iodine showed the largest impact
Iodine intake was affected most when dairy was replaced. Under current fortification levels, the model estimated inadequate iodine intake among 80% of adolescent girls and 72% of adolescent boys if dairy was completely replaced.
Dr Sarah Bath, the study’s lead author and an associate professor at the University of Surrey, said iodine supports thyroid hormone production, metabolism, growth and brain development. She noted that requirements rise during pregnancy, and that dairy is a major iodine source in the UK while unfortified alternatives contain very little.
Fortification could reduce shortfalls
Researchers found that mandatory fortification of plant-based dairy alternatives could help prevent declines in micronutrient intake. Even so, their model estimated that 59% of adolescent girls would still have inadequate iodine intake with fortified alternatives.
Adding iodine to bread lowered the estimated share to 37%. The findings suggest that using both fortification approaches could work better than fortifying alternatives alone.
Key points
- The study modeled dietary data from more than 3,500 people in the UK.
- Iodine was the nutrient most affected by replacing dairy products.
- With full replacement under current fortification levels, modeled inadequacy reached 80% among adolescent girls and 72% among boys.
- Adding iodine to bread alongside fortified alternatives lowered estimated inadequacy among adolescent girls to 37%.