Plant based - whether that be vegan or just a conscious reduction of animal products - is HOT right now. It's not really a secret that I personally am a big fan and eat this way myself. But, like anything, there are pros and cons. PROS 🥦Research supports plant forward approaches reducing risk of gestational diabetes and improving blood sugar 🥦reduced risk of things like diabetes and heart disease. 🥦better gut health 🥦Lots of micronutrients and antioxidants, which keeps your nutrient stores topped up and supports bub to hit milestones in their development 🥦Can help keep weight gain within guidelines 🥦Supports environmental sustainability 🥦Delicious CONS 🥕 Can be low in - or missing altogether - key pregnancy nutrients e.g. iron, calcium, iodine, omega 3 and vitamin B12. 🥕If not well planned, can also be too low in total calories and/or protein. 🥕Reduced food options, which makes it harder to plan and eat spontaneously. 🥕Often a naturally higher carb approach, which can make balancing blood sugar more difficult 🥕 May not be well understood by people in your life e.g. family, friends and even some healthcare workers So what should you do? It's a tricky one, given there are SOOOO many benefits, but also risks and downsides to consider. My thoughts? In short: If you're already vegetarian or vegan, you can absolutely continue eating this way, but I would highly highly recommend you seek support from a dietitian who specialises in pregnancy nutrition and GD to make sure you're ticking all the boxes. If you're not, don't feel like you have to suddenly cut out all your animal foods to be healthy. But I would encourage you to replace some of these with plant proteins, and adopt a generally more plant forward approach to reap the benefits. For the full low-down, I was lucky enough to be interviewed on the Plant Based Pregnancy Podcast for this episode. I loved this conversation, and I promise you'll learn something.

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Disclaimer:

The information in this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for individualised medical and nutrition advice. Please speak to your healthcare team before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle. Helena (and any guests) do not accept liability for any harm or damages that occur from following suggestions in these podcast episodes.