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

2019; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 11; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/nu11030557

2072-6643

Giorgia Sebastiani, Ana Herranz, Cristina Borràs‐Novell, Miguel Alsina Casanova, Victoria Aldecoa‐Bilbao, Vicente Andreu-Férnández, Mireia Pascual Tutusaus, Silvia Ferrero Martínez, María Dolores Gómez‐Roig, Óscar García‐Algar,

Nutritional Studies and Diet

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.