The Effects of Vegetarian and Vegan Diet During Pregnancy on the Health of Mothers and Offspring

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2019 Mar 9

PMID 30845641

Citations 78

Authors

Giorgia Sebastiani

Ana Herranz Barbero

Cristina Borras-Novell

Miguel Alsina Casanova

Victoria Aldecoa-Bilbao

Vicente Andreu-Fernandez

Mireia Pascual Tutusaus

Silvia Ferrero Martinez

Maria Dolores Gomez Roig

Oscar Garcia-Algar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Vegetarian and vegan diets have increased worldwide in the last decades, according to the knowledge that they might prevent coronary heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Althought plant-based diets are at risk of nutritional deficiencies such as proteins, iron, vitamin D, calcium, iodine, omega-3, and vitamin B12, the available evidence shows that well planned vegetarian and vegan diets may be considered safe during pregnancy and lactation, but they require a strong awareness for a balanced intake of key nutrients. A review of the scientific literature in this field was performed, focusing specifically on observational studies in humans, in order to investigate protective effects elicited by maternal diets enriched in plant-derived foods and possible unfavorable outcomes related to micronutrients deficiencies and their impact on fetal development. A design of pregestational nutrition intervention is required in order to avoid maternal undernutrition and consequent impaired fetal growth.

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