People say I need to eat meat during my pregnancy

recently found out im having a baby, and ive had TONS of people so far telling me "you need to eat meat, your iron levels are probably low, you need to eat more protein" lol

people are so ignorant!

i havent even had a craving for meat or dairy, thank god

my sister felt the need to send me this link:

By NINA PLANCK
Published: May 21, 2007
Correction Appended

WHEN Crown Shakur died of starvation, he was 6 weeks old and weighed 3.5 pounds. His vegan parents, who fed him mainly soy milk and apple juice, were convicted in Atlanta recently of murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty.

Jacob Magraw-Mickelson
This particular calamity — at least the third such conviction of vegan parents in four years — may be largely due to ignorance. But it should prompt frank discussion about nutrition.

I was once a vegan. But well before I became pregnant, I concluded that a vegan pregnancy was irresponsible. You cannot create and nourish a robust baby merely on foods from plants.

Indigenous cuisines offer clues about what humans, naturally omnivorous, need to survive, reproduce and grow: traditional vegetarian diets, as in India, invariably include dairy and eggs for complete protein, essential fats and vitamins. There are no vegan societies for a simple reason: a vegan diet is not adequate in the long run.

Protein deficiency is one danger of a vegan diet for babies. Nutritionists used to speak of proteins as “first class” (from meat, fish, eggs and milk) and “second class” (from plants), but today this is considered denigrating to vegetarians.

The fact remains, though, that humans prefer animal proteins and fats to cereals and tubers, because they contain all the essential amino acids needed for life in the right ratio. This is not true of plant proteins, which are inferior in quantity and quality — even soy.

A vegan diet may lack vitamin B12, found only in animal foods; usable vitamins A and D, found in meat, fish, eggs and butter; and necessary minerals like calcium and zinc. When babies are deprived of all these nutrients, they will suffer from retarded growth, rickets and nerve damage.

Responsible vegan parents know that breast milk is ideal. It contains many necessary components, including cholesterol (which babies use to make nerve cells) and countless immune and growth factors. When breastfeeding isn’t possible, soy milk and fruit juice, even in seemingly sufficient quantities, are not safe substitutes for a quality infant formula.

Yet even a breast-fed baby is at risk. Studies show that vegan breast milk lacks enough docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, the omega-3 fat found in fatty fish. It is difficult to overstate the importance of DHA, vital as it is for eye and brain development.

A vegan diet is equally dangerous for weaned babies and toddlers, who need plenty of protein and calcium. Too often, vegans turn to soy, which actually inhibits growth and reduces absorption of protein and minerals. That’s why health officials in Britain, Canada and other countries express caution about soy for babies. (Not here, though — perhaps because our farm policy is so soy-friendly.)

Historically, diet honored tradition: we ate the foods that our mothers, and their mothers, ate. Now, your neighbor or sibling may be a meat-eater or vegetarian, may ferment his foods or eat them raw. This fragmentation of the American menu reflects admirable diversity and tolerance, but food is more important than fashion. Though it’s not politically correct to say so, all diets are not created equal.

An adult who was well-nourished in utero and in infancy may choose to get by on a vegan diet, but babies are built from protein, calcium, cholesterol and fish oil. Children fed only plants will not get the precious things they need to live and grow.

Nina Planck is the author of “Real Food: What to Eat and Why.”

Correction: June 8, 2007

An Op-Ed article on May 21, about veganism, mischaracterized an aspect of traditional vegetarian Indian diets. Generally, these diets are lacto-vegetarian; they do not include eggs

LIKE REALLY?

maybe there are certain foods i should be increasing for the baby

and it sucks, but the thought of a banana makes me gag right now... =[

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Permalink Reply by Gabrielle Glowacki on May 24, 2012 at 2:44pm

thanks for the reply, i couldnt agree with you more. people always try to make sense of saying "humans are omnivores we need meat, milk is good for you" but they can never prove their theory... its quite funny to me

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Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on May 24, 2012 at 4:17pm

I want to see Nina Planck eat some dog meat if she is going to use the 'indigenous tribes no best' sound bite.

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Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on May 24, 2012 at 4:20pm

To test if you gave birth to an omnivore or vegan put the toddler in a cot with a banana and a rabbit. Come back 30 mins later and if the banana AND the rabbit are gone you know what to feed your child.

Plant eaters should stick with eating plants otherwise they end up as deranged haters like Lierre Keith, Nina Planck and the rest of the 'vegans are stupid!' robots.

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Permalink Reply by Kerry is so Berry on May 24, 2012 at 4:22pm

There are hundreds of examples of vegetarian and vegan moms who gave birth to perfectly healthy babies. The fear and prejudices about vegetarianism is deeply ingrained in the psyche after years of programming us to believe we need to eat animals. Show your sister some counter examples of healthy veg pregnancies and kids raised on balanced vegetarian diets if you feel the need to curb her fears. For your own sake, do some reading, like "Skinny Bitch Bun in the Oven" and 'The Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book". With all the hormones and antibiotics and disease in meat, dairy and egg products, you are doing more for your baby by not eating them.

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Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on May 24, 2012 at 4:23pm

"Ensure diets high in fish for peak brain health" -Nina Planck.

Face palm.

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Permalink Reply by Trevor Gates on May 24, 2012 at 4:42pm

People say funny things. These people of whom you speak are they doctors or nutrition scientists? Or just SAD parrots?

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Kerr on May 24, 2012 at 8:46pm

Firstly, Congratulations, if its your first your world is about to change forever.

Secondly lets not forget the logic leap "WHEN Crown Shakur died of starvation, he was 6 weeks old and weighed 3.5 pounds. His vegan parents, who fed him mainly soy milk and apple juice..." well yeah. Babies are, of course, not vegan. Mothers milk is the best food available. Sure I understand some mothers can not breast feed but the baby needs what is in the breast milk.

My point is not what to feed babies but that the Author makes a massive logic leap; that the baby who was poorly fed during the first 6 weeks was not born healthy. There is no information offered about the health of the baby at birth or in utero. Yet the thrust of the article is that a pregnant woman is unable to grow a healthy baby without animal product.

To paraphrase Dr D.Graham "there are no contra indications to healthy eating". Don't worry about the pressure, if you are healthy the baby has the best chance.

Enjoy your journey

Dan

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Permalink Reply by Sunshine on May 24, 2012 at 8:54pm

BS my mom never did i never have.

only somebody with a motive would say such a thing.

walk away from a person like this that would have you risk your health

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Permalink Reply by PJ on May 24, 2012 at 10:03pm

HAHAHA Beware also of dihydrous oxide, it's been found in every home it's been tested for. Everyone who has consumed dihydrous oxide has died - thus it's the most lethal chemical known to man!

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Permalink Reply by Luk on May 24, 2012 at 10:26pm

ask The Grahams (LOL)

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Permalink Reply by Gabrielle Glowacki on June 8, 2012 at 1:28am

she is a true inspiration

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Permalink Reply by Yasin Madakia on May 31, 2012 at 7:00pm

I think i remember reading an article where people who lived on remote islands whose diets were solely local fruits. I wonder how the tribe still exists if you need meat to produce healthy offspring