Vegetarian and pregnant - nuts?

Question

I am a vegetarian planning to get pregnant. On most of the pregnancy sites they say it is best to avoid nuts (which I normally eat regularly) during pregnancy. However on the sites where they give advice to pregnant vegetarians they suggest eating nuts as part of your diet to ensure you get all your minerals and vitamins. I'm a bit confused now, is it ok to eat nuts when pregnant or not?

Answer 1

The position of the the UKfood standards authority:

Serious allergies to nuts and nut products and some seeds affect about 1 to 2% of people in the UK. Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever, asthma and/or eczema.

If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.

There have been some studies published recently that question whether women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid peanuts and peanut products, because it may in fact increase the risk of your baby developing a peanut allergy. The Agency is carrying out a thorough review of all the research that has been done on this subject and will use this to decide whether our advice needs to be updated.

... there is an overwhelming amount of do's and don'ts associated with pregnancies nowdays. All you can do make a decision based upon the best information you have at your disposal. Talking to a nutritionist would be a good idea if you are at all worried. Be wary of doctors as they are not required to study nutrition (Not to say they are all bad, mines fantastic, just watch out for those still outdated enough to be insisting you need meat!)

Hope this helps and best of luck!

Answer 2

I think the best thing to do is consult your gp or a nutritionist, but, from doing a year course in health and social i was taught that when nuts are consumed by infants and babies, it causes a natural chemical reaction that tightens the airways, developing into an allergy. deaths due to consumtion of nuts in infants, is about 80% larger than that of adults. im not sure if this applies to babies still in the womb, but please ask someone in the know first :D

good luck hun! xx

Answer 3

The advice I have read suggests that if you have a family history of excema or asthma you may wish to avoid nuts.  However, many people do eat them without incidence or problems with the child.

Answer 4

This is a question to ask your doctor, and not a bunch of strangers on yahoo answers. My two cents on this is vegetarians don't need nuts in their diet to stay healthy. Nuts are just one of many things you can get protein from.

Answer 5

When I was pregnant with my first two children (now aged 19 and 20) there were very few things you had to avoid, mainly soft cheeses and unpasturised milk products.  I was encouraged to eat lots of liver (although I didn't as it's disgusting) and ate lots of nuts including peanuts.  Both of my children were completely healthy and still are.  

When I was pregnant with my 4 year old daughter I was told never to eat liver or pate along with a huge list of banned food. I did follow the advice and again my daughter was healthy.

I was only told to avoid peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding if there was any history of allergies in either family.  I avoided them anyway just to be on the safe side and my daughter still suffered with mild baby eczema.  It only lasted about 18 months, but I was suprised as she was breastfed exclusively and I have always been very careful about what she eats.  

It just shows that no matter what you do, if a child is going to suffer with something the chances are they will anyway.  It could be that her eczema may have been worse if I had of eaten peanuts, but I'll never know.

Answer 6

Nuts are okay for for vegetarians because it provides all vitamins and minerals, because this substitutes for most of the meat that your not eating.

Good luck

Answer 7

where do these people get their information from to come up with this conflicting advice?

sometimes sounds like they make it up!

I'm a vegetarian & I ate nuts whilst pregnant, mother & baby were & are fine.

anyway for advice ( I do trust ) for vegetarian & pregnant, see links below, hope it helps.

;-)

Answer 8

when your a vegetarian yes because your getting minerals that non-vegetarians get from meat if they ate nut they would get too much of those nourishments but like if no body has an allergic reaction in your family...just so u believe me i found this article

Should I avoid peanuts?

peanuts

Serious allergies to nuts and nut products and some seeds affect about 1 to 2% of people in the UK. Your baby may be at higher risk of developing a nut allergy if you, the baby's father, brothers or sisters have certain allergic conditions such as hayfever, asthma and/or eczema.

If your baby is in this higher-risk group, you may wish to avoid eating peanuts and peanut products when you're pregnant and breastfeeding.

There have been some studies published recently that question whether women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid peanuts and peanut products, because it may in fact increase the risk of your baby developing a peanut allergy. The Agency is carrying out a thorough review of all the research that has been done on this subject and will use this to decide whether our advice needs to be updated.