Data and code underlying the publication: Iron bioavailability should be considered when modeling omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan diets

The main aim of this study was to investigate and compare the impact of various methods to estimate absorbable iron intake on the nutritional adequacy of omnivorous, vegetarian, and vegan menu plans designed for women of reproductive age. A diet model was developed to design menu plans consisting of a selection of meals that best complied with nutritional requirements. Meals used for modeling were created based on food consumption data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). For each meal, absorbable iron concentrations were estimated by using 2 constant absorption factors (18% and 10%) and 2 diet-dependent absorption equations available from literature.

Please view https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.05.011 for added information on materials and methods.

- Meals
Meals used for modeling were created based on a.o. NHANES consumption data. The input data is further described in FolderContents - 1 Raw Data. The processing of the data was done in R, see FolderContents - 3 Model input data. This includes the estimation of food components such as phytate, which are necessary to estimate nonheme iron absorption.

- Estimation of absorbable iron
The formulas as described in literature were used to calculate the absorbable iron content of meals (see FolderContents - 2 Absorption equations).

- Diet model
A mixed-integer linear goal programming model was developed to construct a two-week menu plan consisting of a selection of meals that best complied with nutritional requirements (see FolderContents - 4 Diet model).

- Processing and analysis scripts
All processing of data (modifications, calculations, etc.) and analysis of data was performed in R. All scripts are elaborately commented, describing each different step taken and the reason for the step.

- Figures and tables
All figures and tables were created through R. Refer to the R scripts for detailed information within the script