What can vegetarian women do to enhance their nutrition before pregnancy?

Women of childbearing age often follow a vegetarian diet, which is prone to anemia and affects hormone secretion in the body. Research has confirmed that long-term vegetarian diet is prone to vitamin B12 deficiency. A complete vegetarian diet can only provide plant protein and lead to a lack of certain amino acids. Vegetarian food has the worst absorption of trace elements. Insufficient absorption of iron affects the formation of heme, which has a great impact on pregnancy.

Due to a long-term vegetarian diet, the food consumed is low in protein, which leads to abnormal hormone secretion, affects reproductive ability, and may lead to infertility in severe cases. So vegetarian women must strengthen their nutrition if they want to get pregnant.

(1) The diet should be diverse:Whether it is staple food (rice, bread, whole grains, , beans) or vegetables, fruits, milk, eggs, and oils. The nutrients they contain are different and cannot replace each other. Therefore, the dishes on the table should be changed frequently. Whole-wheat pasta, germ bread, and brown rice should be used. etc. instead of white rice and white noodles.

(2) Choose more fresh, unprocessed foods:Vegetarians should choose more Fresh legumes and whole grains.

Nutritionists strongly recommend soybean-brown rice with a ratio of about 1:3 between soybeans and brown rice. The ratio of protein to sugar is just right. Before cooking, soybeans need to be soaked for 2 to 3 hours and brown rice for 1 hour (soak in the refrigerator in summer to avoid fermentation).

(3) Eat more beans in moderation: Beans such as soybeans, edamame, mung beans or tofu , dried tofu and processed bean products are rich in protein, which can supplement the lack of meat. Eating more beans will not worry about high cholesterol.

(4) Reasonably supplement the lack of vegetarian food: Eat some eggs in moderation to increase animal protein intake to avoid amino acid deficiency.

Ingest more fruits such as cashews and almonds, which are rich in oil and can replenish the calories needed by the body. It is best to have four or five types of vegetables and rotate them constantly, and consume more fruits rich in iron, such as tomatoes and kiwis., grapes, etc. Adhere to the basic dietary principles of less oil, less salt, and less sugar, and consciously supplement vitamins that vegetarians may lack.

This article is provided by Baidu Reading and is excerpted from \”Three Months Before Pregnancy – Pregnancy Preparation Period\” Author: Wang Liru