Vegetarian and Vegan Diets in Pregnancy
Everyone should have plenty of plant-based foods in their diets, but there are a few vitamins and minerals that are more difficult to get enough of if you are vegan or have a predominantly plant-based diet.
These include:
- vitamin B12, which only naturally occurs in animal products
- calcium, which is mainly found in dairy foods
- iron, which is found in lots of plant foods, but is best absorbed from red meat
- iodine, which is mainly found in dairy products, eggs and fish
- taking a vegetarian or vegan-friendly pregnancy multivitamin
- using fortified milk alternatives and firm tofu for calcium
- including foods at least twice a day that have been fortified with vitamin B12, including milk alternatives, cereals, nutritional yeast and yeast extract
- eating a wide variety of iron-containing foods including lentils, chickpeas and kale
People who follow vegetarian or vegan diets may also find it more difficult to include enough protein. If you eat eggs and dairy products, these are an excellent source of protein. If you have an entirely plant-based diet, try to include a range of beans and pulses, tofu, tempeh and seitan as well as mycoprotein (‘Quorn’) and soya protein-based foods.
The Vegan Society has excellent information about plant-based diets in pregnancy and breastfeeding: Pregnancy and breastfeeding | The Vegan Society.