Few days back, I was chatting with a friend who is in her first trimester and she is a vegan. Her doctor told her to consume a bit of meat, eggs and fish to keep the foetus healthy. But she gave up on animal protein few years ago and since then she have been feeling great.
Now the major concern is the smell. During pregnancy, many women can’t stand with strong fragrances. She has also become the same. She can’t stand with the smell of animal protein when they are being cooked at home. She feels nauseous, hence she can’t eat animal protein. Digestive system also takes a big toll on a woman’s health during her pregnancy. So all of these things and detail discussion with her made me post this blog this time.
What is vegan pregnancy? Is it safe?
As the plat-based diet is getting popular all over the world, many women are choosing to have it during their pregnancy. As their digestive system doesn’t work like what it used to before conceiving their offspring, women prefer to eat which is easy to digest. Veganism also promotes eating whole food, which is way more beneficial for the consumer. By saying ‘whole food’, I mean, the eater will be eating the unadulterated food, which comes in the most raw form.
Consumption of legumes, vegetables and little amount of fruits everyday keep pregnancy safe for the women. This doesn’t give major digestive problems and can also provide enough nutrition to the foetus. Since heart issues and diabetes has become a common thing among women nowadays, eating these whole food is the safest options of all.
Common concerns
The major concerns people face is low nutrition. Generally, women feel that they might get vitamin B12, vitamin D, iron, calcium, omega fatty 3, protein and iodine deficiency. But many diet experts, believe that a balanced diet can easily help them fighting all of these deficiency altogether. Getting all the much needed nutrition during pregnancy is mandatory, and is pretty much possible with a balanced plant-based diet.
What you can include in your diet?
So here we will briefly talk about the food intake, one can include in their diet during pregnancy.
- Legumes are high in protein. Its also rich in potassium, calcium, calcium and fibre. Cook the legumes thoroughly and include them in your daily diet.
- Nuts and seeds are equally important as they are high nutritional source for omega fatty 3 acids. Generally, for the animal protein consumers, omega fatty 3 acids come from sea fish and eggs. But if you are a vegetarian or vegan, then consumption of nuts and seeds are very helpful. I personally enjoy a good layer of nut butter between toasted breads with some pumpkin and flax seeds drizzled on the butter.
- Insufficient calcium in mother’s body can risk the growth of the foetus, can also lead to various bone diseases or preeclampsia. So one must include tofu (if they are not allergic to soy), green leafy vegetables, broccoli and beans in their daily diet. This will help them to treat their body on its own.
- Getting enough of zinc in your diet is equally important. Low zinc in blood may lead the mother to low birth weight. This can also lead to pre-term labour and premature delivery. By including lentils, pumpkin and its seeds, spinach, yam, walnuts, carrots in your diet, you can get ample quantity of zinc.
- Low birth rate and anaemia can happen to the mother and the unborn baby due to iron deficiency too. Chickpeas, cashews, potato, kidney beans, dried apricots and oats could be a wonderful source of iron. You can also consume bananas along with oats if you are not diabetic.
Final take away for vegan pregnancy
Millions of people think that vegan diet or vegetarian diet during pregnancy is not enough. Well they are somehow wrong. During research, many experts found that, women who consume animal protein, turned vegetarian during their pregnancy as they were not able to digest meat, fish or eggs. One of my ex-colleague turned vegetarian during her pregnancy as she was unable to digest animal protein.
A well-balanced vegan or vegetarian diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding can surely help you throughout. During breastfeeding, a woman needs to consume healthy food, so she can produce milk and her milk can be a healthy option for her baby too. If you need vitamin or calcium supplements, then consult with your doctor first. Prenatal care is equally necessary to take care all about.