The overwhelming health consensus is that a plant-based diet can be safe during pregnancy. Most health experts concur that plant-based eating is not only safe, but optimal for health.
GABBY LANDSVERK: ‘Advocates of plant-based eating are in an uproar this week after a respected UK nutritionist claimed veganism could be depriving babies and children of a critical “brain-building” nutrient. Emma Derbyshire, a nutrition consultant and author of a book on maternal nutrition, said the UK may face a “potential choline crisis” in an article published August 30 in the journal BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health.
Derbyshire argues that many adults don’t get enough choline, an essential nutrient, in their diets, a problem exacerbated by the popularity of plant-based or vegan diets that eliminate good sources of choline like meat and eggs. She warned that a lack of choline during pregnancy could put infants’ cognitive development at risk…
But other nutritionists have said that a plant-based diet can provide plenty of choline, and pregnant vegans have the options of using supplements. Critics have also pointed out that Derbyshire has provided consulting for the Meat Advisory Panel and the British Egg Information Service, listed as “competing interests” in the published article…
Derbyshire said the best dietary sources of choline are beef and eggs, citing research that people who eat those foods are more likely to get enough choline than those who don’t. Milk is a good source, too. But plenty of plant-based foods have sufficient amounts of choline, according to registered dietitian Heather Russell. For instance, almonds, soy, beans, broccoli, and rice are all good sources of choline.
“This nutrient is widely distributed in plant foods because it’s present in cell membranes. Soya products, quinoa, and broccoli are some of the best plant-based sources,” she said in a statement from the Vegan Society that called Derbyshire’s paper “sensationalized.” The overarching health consensus is that a plant-based diet can be safe during pregnancy. Most health experts concur that plant-based eating is not only safe, but optimal for health’. SOURCE…
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