NEWS: Menu help for vegetarian moms-to-be

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Menu help for vegetarian moms-to-be

 

Tips for getting in all the proper nutrients

 

By Jennifer Haupt

WEBMD

 

When you’re pregnant, getting the right nutrition has never been more

important. But if meat, eggs or dairy products are not on your preferred

menu, you’ll need to do some diet planning. Just don’t feel all alone in

this. Here are some tips to help you plan your meals.

 

WHETHER YOU are a vegetarian (don’t eat meat) or strict vegan (no dairy

products or eggs either), a well-balanced diet during pregnancy can provide

all the nutrients necessary for both you and your baby — along with the extra

300 calories per day that the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology

recommends for all pregnant women.

 

The following tips can help you plan your meals. They are provided by Dr.

Michael Klaper, director of the Institute of Nutrition Education and Research

in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and author of the book “Pregnancy, Children, and

the Vegan Diet,†and Virginia Messina, a registered dietitian and co-author

with Kenneth Burke of the 1997 American Dietetic Association’s position paper

on vegetarian diets.

 

Even if you don’t eat protein-rich dairy products, you can still get that

extra 10 grams of protein per day that is so important for building fetal

bones and tissue by eating a 3/4-cup portion of beans, peas, or lentils; a

half-cup of spinach; 2-1/4 tablespoons of peanut butter; or two cups of brown

rice.

 

Getting enough calcium used to be a problem for vegans, but now you can take

advantage of a variety of calcium-fortified foods including juices, cereals,

and even caramel- or chocolate-flavored calcium “candies.â€

 

Avoid soft cheese or raw seafood, which can be possible sources of a

potentially harmful type of Listeria bacterium. According to the FDA, this

form of Listeria can be passed on to the fetus, causing illness or even

death.

 

Wash all produce, even foods labeled “organic,†with a vegetable rinse to

remove pesticides, dirt, and bugs.

 

Eat plenty of beans and legumes to increase your iron level, and eat root

vegetables to boost trace minerals including iodine, magnesium, and copper.

Green, leafy vegetables also are good sources of iron.

 

Eat fortified cereals that contain added vitamins and minerals including

vitamins B-12 and D, both of which may be lacking in a meatless diet.

 

Folic acid (or folate) is one of the few nutrients known to prevent spina

bifida, a neural tube birth defect, which affects one in every 1,000 babies

born in the U.S. A pregnant woman needs 600 to 800 micrograms of folic acid

per day (compared to the normal 400 microgram requirement). This vitamin can

be found in green leafy vegetables, grains, orange juice, and fruits, and in

fortified breads, cereals, and pastas. (Folic acid is most helpful in the

first three months of pregnancy, and doctors recommend that you begin

increasing your intake several months before conception to help reduce the

risk of neural-tube defects.)

 

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