Journal
NUTRIENTS
Volume 11, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/nu11030557
Keywords
vegetarian diets; vegan diets; plant-based diets; nutrition; pregnancy; breastfeeding; human milk; micronutrients; fetal development
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Funding
- Red de Salud Materno-Infantil y del Desarrollo (SAMID) [RD16/0022/0002]
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid (Spain)
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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.
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