Question: "I'm a vegetarian and I just found out I'm pregnant. Do I need to change my diet?"
Congratulations! You may be wondering if, even if you are quite happy with a vegetarian diet, your growing baby needs meat. Nope! Maintaining a vegetarian or vegan diet during your pregnancy is safe and healthy. The important thing is eating a variety of foods that supply you and your developing baby with the nutrients you both need.
Make sure your diet is rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates like whole grain breads, pastas, and brown rice. Also, incorporate calcium rich foods like leafy greens and dairy products (if you consume milk), and iron rich foods such as enriched grains, spinach, and raisins. Vitamin C can be found in citrus fruits and veggies like broccoli, peppers, and sweet potatoes. Dark green leafy vegetables, take kale and chard and legumes such as beans and chickpeas are a great daily source of folic acid. Protein can sometimes be a challenge so if you are avoiding meat, poultry, fish and eggs, stock up on beans, nuts, soy products like tofu, and quinoa. Vitamin B 12 is the one nutrient that can only be found in animal sources such as dairy products, eggs and fish. If you are a vegan, your doctor may have you take a Vitamin B 12 supplement in addition to your prenatal vitamin. A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and grains will help keep you healthy throughout your pregnancy.
Something to consider, though... the foods you used to enjoy may not sit as well with you during the next nine months, especially during the queasy days of the first trimester. Progesterone slows down the smooth muscles of your intestines and you’ll want to avoid getting blocked up. You also may have food cravings and aversions. So listen to your body, give it what it wants and balance it out with what it needs.