Protein Diet And Nutritional Requirement During Pregnancy

While you are pregnant, you have a greater nutritional requirement as you need to sustain both yourself as well as your baby. You particularly need an additional amount of proteins for the formation of cells and tissues of the baby and also for the development of the placenta and other maternal tissues. It is recommended that pregnant women must consume ten grams more proteins in their daily diet as compared to their regular diets.

Non vegetarian foods are the major sources of proteins in your diet. So what do you do if you are a vegetarian or a vegan? Although there is no doubt that non vegetarian foods are rich in protein content, even vegetarian foods can supplement your protein requirements during pregnancy.

So, if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, you need not worry about your protein supplementation, as long as you take steps to ensure that you’re getting adequate amounts of it from other sources.

Recommendations For Protein Vegan Diet

Here are some recommendations for a protein vegan diet for pregnancy:

Pregnant women are advised to consume at least four servings of beans and peas per day. These leguminous foods are very high in protein content.
You may also include nuts like cashew nuts and almonds in your diet on account of their high protein content.
You are advised not to eat refined grains. Rather, you must eat whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, and whole wheat bread. It would be better to consume seven to eleven very small servings of these foods on a daily basis.
You may also include flaxseeds in your diet as they are a good protein source.
Certain vegetables like broccoli, cowpeas, pumpkin, cauliflower, and spinach are rich in proteins and as such, you must include these foods as a part of your diet during pregnancy.
Fruits like water melon are also rich in proteins.
Radish, carrot, pepper, chili, garlic, and onions are other rich sources of proteins. You are recommended to include these foods in your diet.
Mushrooms, parsley and celery are high in protein content.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes should also be included in your daily diet.
Dairy products like milk and cheese are very rich in protein content. Vegetarians are advised to include a lot of milk products in their diet.
Soya beans are rich source of proteins and as such, recommended for pregnant women.
There are a lot of vegetarian foods that are rich in proteins. So, if you are a vegetarian or a vegan, you can still have the adequate amount of proteins to sustain the growth of your fetus, by supplementing this essential nutrient with the above mentioned foods.

Submitted on July 31, 2009