With careful planning, a vegetarian diet, no matter what the type, can be healthy and safe during pregnancy. It is essential to assess your intake of certain nutrients that are especially important during pregnancy. These nutrients include vitamin B12, calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, and protein.

If you follow a lacto-ovo or a lacto vegetarian diet, meaning you include dairy or dairy and eggs in your eating plan, you have fewer nutritional hurdles to get over. If you are vegan, you have to be much more vigilant about consuming all of the essential nutrients you need for a healthy pregnancy. That includes making sure that you consume enough calories recommended for pregnancy. Vegetarians, especially vegans, should keep tabs on their weight gain during pregnancy.

The Benefits

Vegetarian diets can be very healthy if designed correctly. A healthy, well-planned vegetarian diet usually contains more fiber. It is also lower in total fat, especially saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, which can help lower the risk for diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and some cancers.

In addition, LDL blood cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) levels are generally lower in vegetarians, which can decrease the incidence of death from heart disease. Vegetarians tend to have a lower incidence of hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some forms of cancers such as lung and colon, than people who eat meat.

Vegetarian diets that are high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also tend to be higher in folic acid, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and phytochemicals. All these benefits give this eating style an extra disease-fighting punch. However, the key to being at a lower risk for these health problems is following a properly balanced vegetarian diet.

The Pitfalls

It is important to keep in mind that being a vegetarian does not guarantee that you are eating a healthy diet. A poorly planned vegetarian diet can cause some nutritional deficiencies. It can also be high in fat, cholesterol, and calories and low in fiber. Some vegetarians may have a high saturated-fat intake from consuming too many eggs, cream, butter, whole-milk products, and cheese.

Vegetarians may get into the rut of eating too many low-fiber starches without including enough of the other food groups, such as plant-based proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy foods (if included in their eating style).

Despite some of the pitfalls of a vegetarian diet, you can still reap the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle as long as you plan your meals correctly and you eat higher fat, higher sugar foods in moderation.