Keeping a watch on what you put in your body is essential, especially if you’re expecting. Your baby needs all the nutrients you eat to grow to a reasonable size before birth. Good practices in vegan diet discipline are essential for the baby.
If you switch to the vegan food dietary lifestyle, then you are probably aware that cutting certain meats also reduces specific vitamins and minerals. While you can survive without a massive amount of them, if you are expecting a new baby, it might be wise to supplement those missing nutrients on behalf of the baby. We aren’t saying go eat a steak, but the iron in red meat is critical to proper fetal development, so maybe pack a high-iron source into your meal.
There are plenty of ways you can get your baby what they need, even if on a vegan diet plan. The same applies to a vegetarian diet. However, some of the new foods in this dietary choice, like eggs, for instance, can supplement protein very well without help. Vegan foods do an excellent job of keeping adults healthy.
Here are some ideas for maintaining your diet, and giving the healthiest diet to your baby:
- Vitamins that replace nutrients lost from not eating meat. Eating fortified foods, like plant milk and yogurt.
- Cook with cast iron. Your food will get a dose of iron and zinc while cooking.
- Avoid alcohol. Some say it’s ok while pregnant to have one drink. No science has ever backed that claim up. Be smart, and don’t change it.
- Limit your caffeine intake, and that includes coffee.
- Avoid overly processed foods and vegan substitutes. They often have excess sugars and lack nutrients.
- Eat nutrient-rich plants, like soy products. Tofu is a fantastic source of necessary fats and salts, but don’t overindulge.
- Vegan food diets can negatively affect your baby if you don’t supplement the essential nutrients. Such things as low birth weight, possible birth defects, and even a small likelihood of miscarriage.
- Vegan food diets have the added benefit to new babies of lowering the risk of specific developmental issues.
- This dietary choice has the lowest chance of the mother suffering from postpartum depression.
Going vegan
If you look at the actual science, there are pros and cons on both sides of the aisle, but the common denominator is that a healthy mother is more likely to have a healthy baby. The baby will need a few things the mother doesn’t, but a vigilant mother can put those unique nutritional additions in her diet without feeling like she is cheating.
The best course of action is to contact a nutritionist and compare notes with a prenatal care physician. Figure out how you can do right by your baby while still maintaining your food intake. You already have the benefits. Now pass those on the little one growing inside you.
Conclusion
The lifestyle may seem strange to many, but it has its merits. Vegans are at lower risk for obesity, type-2 diabetes, and high cholesterol. But the tradeoff is they must do other things to compensate. And unlike most diets, the diet is more of a lifestyle choice. Their whole world revolves around making sure they eat the most nutritional food, void of animal products. No other diet can claim that. Has your dietary choice affected your baby for better or worse?
