Vegan/Vegetarian Diet

[Lunova]

So I'm a vegetarian with dairy intolerances (so basically a vegan) and when talking about my infertility a lot of people instantly refer to my diet and tell me that is probably the cause. I know vegans and vegetarians are able to get pregnant so don't believe what they are saying. However, it does make me think maybe I am missing something important out of my diet. I have done a lot of research and have got very contradictory findings. What are your views on this and are there any vegetarians/vegans out there that can offer advice? Xx

[Hidden]

My vegetarian friend got pregnant after 6 months of trying. The only thing she changed at 3 months was reducing stress - which everyone has. Good luck xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

P.s. are you taking support supplements? I take them (am not vegetarian) x

[Lunova in reply to Hidden]

I take folic acid, vitamin d, vitamin b complex and I use yeast flakes for b12. I do think stress is one of my main problems! Thank you x

[Scott1986]

I'm vegan - had all tests as recently had ivf - not been found to be lacking in anything or that it could be a contributing factor to our infertility. Only thing I do take is a B12 supplement as this is really the only thing you can't get from anything other than animal products. Hope this helps x

[Lunova in reply to Scott1986]

Thank you for sharing, it's good to know! I take folic acid, vitamin d, vitamin b complex and I use yeast flakes for b12 so am hoping that is enough x

[kt_11]

Bit rude of people to suggest it’s due to something you’re doing wrong without actually knowing!

But I understand that you want to double check whether there’s anything else you can do to improve things.

I’m vegetarian (quite a fussy eater as well) and did need IVF to conceive but this was largely due to male factor infertility & most of my tests were ok. The only one that wasn’t was vitamin D which was really low and I needed supplements (it can be linked to infertility). The main source of this is actually sunlight but dietary sources are largely meat & fish so if you’re not getting enough through the sun you might need supplements?

Agree with the B12 as well. I’d imagine a pre-conception multivitamin should cover this though.

x

[Lunova in reply to kt_11]

Yea I get it a lot to be honest. I have had a vitamin d deficiency in the past so do take them daily as well as folic acid, vitamin b complex and I try to eat yeast flakes daily for b12. I do wonder if I would be better off taking a pre conception multivitamin tho x

[Hidden]

I am vegetarian & I’ve had 3 pregnancies! First having my son, second one was a chemical pregnancy, and my third pregnancy -I am 9 weeks currently.

With my endo I found I couldn’t tolerate dairy either so cut it out.

I don’t see how a vegetarian diet is less healthy. I ate plenty of lentils, pulses , vegetables & fruit. I followed the anti inflammatory diet ( this was to ease my endo symptoms) and I ate lots of pineapple during my 2WW! Marmite is a good way to get vitamin b in your diet.

My diet wasn’t always perfect- I allowed myself treats now & again!

I took a simple fertility/pregnancy all in one supplement daily to ensure I was getting all the vitamins I needed. Now I take pregncare daily to be sure my baby is getting everything he or she needs 🙂

Wishing you the best xoxo

[Lunova in reply to Hidden]

That's really reassuring, thank you! I take separate vitamins but am wondering if a pre conception multivitamin would be better x

[Hidden in reply to Lunova]

My midwife didn’t think there was any issue with a vegetarian diet & was happy when I told her I was pregncare daily ( so if I was lacking anything I’m covered with the supplement ) The only concern she had was possible anaemia ( I had pregnant with my son) so will monitor that closely, but thinks I will be okay if I am taking pregncare daily. Thought it might help to have the medical perspective on it xoxo😘

[flower83]

Hi vegetarian diet is low on saturated fat. I know some of my friends were advise to drink full fat milk, eat cheese and butter during ttc and ivf. If you cannot consume dairy products on the top of vegetarian diet then you might be low in saturated fat. I read studies about it. I can put the link when I find them. This is one of the theory anyway. Might not be true for everybody. You can try to consume vegitable base saturated fat like coconut oit and olive oil. Good luck

[Lunova in reply to flower83]

That's interesting! Would love to have a read if you can find the link. Thank you x

[magda22]

I'm veggie and eat a lot of vegan. I think it's good to supplement with an additional b vitamin complex, also iron - liquid is better, spa tone is the best brand I think. And occasional additional protein via powder/shakes, but I do a vety physical job and feel I sometimes need extra help to recover. The Zita West books have tonnes of info on eating for best fertility, and it's often non meat based recipes. X

[Hidden]

People always seem to have an opinion on a cause to infertility!!! I remember mentioning I was going through IVF to someone and they told me that they had been about to start IVF but decided to follow a vegan diet and they conceived naturally!

I’m not veggie or vegan but absolutely nothing wrong or nutritionally deficient about either diet. There are plenty of plant sources of calcium, protein and iron. I agree with others that B12 can sometimes be an issue but if you use nutritional yeast, this can help or just take the conception/ pregnancy supplements. Most people in the UK will be vitamin D deficient due to a lack of sunshine so that’s another one worth thinking about but that is regardless of the type of diet you follow as there are very few sources of vit D in food.

Ignore these people!! Xxx