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Tuesday, January 8, 2008


So to be honest, I don't know a ton about being vegetarian and pregnancy and breastfeeding, being as I was the biggest carnivore on the planet when I was pregnant (seriously, I could inhale a giant hamburger with bacon and cheese on it like I was paid to do it). So I'm going to go based off of what I know about nutritional deficiencies that can occur in vegetarians. But first let's talk about the different kinds of vegetarians and vegetarian wannabes.

The Fake-O Vegetarian: This is the person who finds it convenient to be vegetarian when presented with a meat option that looks unappetizing. They are often found on airplanes and at weddings taking the last pasta primavera from the true vegetarians. You know who you are.

The "I don't eat red meat" vegetarians: The Chick-Fil-A cows are cutting you a check as we speak. These people likely won't be suffering for lack of a chicken fried steak or kielbasa.

The lacto-ovo-pesco vegetarian: The only creature passing their lips are the ones that can swim. They are working down the food chain, but they can still enjoy their sushi (when not pregnant, of course)

The lacto-ovo vegetarian: Same as above minus the fish. They eat eggs and milk. Good thing too, because the holidays would really suck without eggnog.

Vegan: no animal products, whatsoever. That's right people (cue the music for the Battle Hymn of the Republic), no hot dogs on July 4th, no filet mignon at your college roommate's wedding, no hamburgers on Labor Day and no s'mores while camping (that's because most graham crackers have honey and honey comes from bees and bees are ANIMALS). I can understand the moral reasoning behind it, but I am also sitting here eating my bacon turkey Bravo sandwich from Panera, so pfffffttt (sticking my tongue out).

Fringe groups like fruitarians (only eat fruit), raw food people (don't eat cooked food), etc: get the hell off my blog. You are a too weird for me. Go back to your commune and weave a hemp bracelet or something.

So the main vitamin deficiencies that vegetarians can get are vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, iron and protein. If you are a "fake-o vegetarian" like one of my college roommates who believed that while she didn't eat meat, she was good eating Fritos and drinking gallons of Rice Dream, start popping your Flintstones vitamins now. Better yet, eat some chicken.

If you are a real veg-head and are interested in some good foods that can provide a well balanced diet in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, I would make sure that you eat a diet with plenty of the aforementioned nutrients. A fetus is like a parasite (okay, it is a parasite). If you don't take in enough calcium, vitamin D and iron, your baby will take it from your bones and your red blood cells, increasing your risk of fractures as an old lady and causing anemia.
If you're vegetarian with a poor diet, you are already at risk for anemia and vitamin D/calcium deficiency, so get your rear in gear and eat some of the food on this list and this list. Make sure to eat protein (found in nuts, beans, etc.) as it is the building block for many of the fun structures in your body.

Now pardon me while I go and cudgel a woolly mammoth for my dinner (grunt).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good information, as usual. And actually... my doctor also told me I could eat sushi -- in moderation of course. No wonder I love her. :) haha Although... I haven't. The thought of trying to get seafood in my mouth right now disgusts me, although I was able to do it pre-pregnancy if I felt my diet was "off" or needing a little boost.

DrBabyMamaDrama said...

I had some sushi at a friend's wedding early in pregnancy and it didn't agree with me, so I stuck with just the vegetable ones until after the baby was born. Funny, now that I can have it, I don't really crave it anymore.

Anna said...

Good stuff. When I first became a vegetarian, I was one of those "bad" ones who lived on macaroni and cheese. It's a miracle I didn't get rickets.

But it can be done and done well. The only reason I gave it up was the early morning sickness of pregnancy - I needed protein and chicken was the best way to get it in me without it coming back up again.

Anonymous said...

Tobi, you are cracking me up, thanks for entertaining (and educating) me during a boring lunch hour!

Tetlow Family said...

Hey watch it...I am one of those crazy Vegans...well at least I'm really trying to be! (The family is in week three at this point!)
And it's not only because the treatment of animals is horrific, but do you know what kind of crap is being fed/injected into those animals? YUCK YUCK YUCK.

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