Hallo, health conscious viewers, and welcome to Healthy Living. On our program today we will take a look at the effect of a vegan diet on morning sickness during pregnancy.

According to recent research, about two-thirds of women in the United States suffer from morning sickness during pregnancy. But why does the condition occur at this time? Is it in any way related to diet? Do vegan mothers experience less morning sickness?

Let’s begin by reviewing some studies on the links between diet and morning sickness. Dr. Paul W. Sherman, professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell University, New York, USA and Dr. Samuel M. Flaxman, a University of Colorado evolutionary behaviorist recently conducted extensive research on this topic.

They examined tens of thousands of women and concluded that nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) actually serves a beneficial function by helping to protect both mother and unborn child.

Dr. Sherman stated, "Our study shows that nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is beneficial by expelling such foods as meat and strong-tasting vegetables that historically and still may contain harmful toxins and micro-organisms that could potentially sicken the woman and damage her fetus just when its organs are developing and are most vulnerable to chemicals."

The researchers also found that many pregnant women often develop a strong aversion to certain foods that they may have previously enjoyed. If the women continue to consume these foods, despite their innate aversion, they are more likely to experience NVP or morning sickness.

The most commonly reported aversions or repulsions were toward meat, fish, poultry and eggs, the foods most likely to carry harmful micro-organisms and parasites. In addition, many pregnant women developed a strong dislike for alcohol, strong-tasting vegetables and caffeinated beverages.

Dr. Sandeep Gupta is a medical doctor from Queensland, Australia. Dr. Gupta is a member of the Australian Integrative Medicine Association and the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine with a special interest in vegetarian and vegan nutrition.

Dr. Gupta was asked if a vegan diet is a healthy choice for pregnant mothers.

Dr. Gupta:
Protein can be found from a variety of plant-based foods. So we’re talking about nuts and seeds, talking about legumes, which includes lentils, chickpeas, soy products, etc.

We’ve got other kinds of super foods like spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae. We’ve got other protein supplements we can take in the way of hemp protein or kind of a carob protein or a rice protein. Even whole grains have a substantial amount of protein in them.

So really it’s about having a balanced diet, rich in whole foods and super foods and that can provide adequate protein for all stages of life.

HOST:
The study by Drs. Sherman and Flaxman was published in the July 2008 issue of The American Naturalist. It uncovered another surprising fact – women from seven traditional societies did not suffer from morning sickness.

After examining the diets of these groups, the researchers learned that in six of the societies the women’s food intake was either vegan or primarily plant-based, and little or no meat had been consumed.

The Cornell University study concluded that in cultures where women experience higher rates of morning sickness, more meat was being consumed.

The American Dietetics Association and other similar organizations around the world have said that a well-balanced vegetarian diet is appropriate for all stages of life. So a well-balanced diet that supplies all the necessary nutrients – under the vegan conditions – can certainly be very appropriate for pregnancy.

HOST:  Ms. Amanda Benham is a vegan and Accredited Practicing Dietitian from Australia. She holds many degrees in nutrition, including a graduate diploma in human nutrition and another in nutrition and dietetics and a master’s degree in health science.

Besides being a dietician, she is also a mother of two life longs vegan youths. Ms. Benham gives her advice on the nutritional needs for vegan mothers.

Amanda (f):
Planning a pregnancy is a time to start looking at your diet.

They (vegan mothers) need to look at their calcium intake, because they are needing to make bones of a baby. So they are going to be using extra calcium. During pregnancy they’re making a whole bloodstream for their baby, which requires iron for the hemoglobins. You need to look at their iron intake. Vitamin B12 is very important for the development of the baby’s brain. Vitamin D, getting some sunshine for a few hours every week.

HOST:
When Healthy Living returns, we will visit some vegan mothers to hear their experiences with their chosen diet and its correlation with morning sickness. Please keep your dial tuned here to Supreme Master Television.

HOST:
Welcome back to Healthy Living. Our program today explores the vegan diet during pregnancy and its reduction of morning sickness. Another recent study on the relationship between diet and morning sickness was conducted by Drs. Gillian V. Pepper and S. Craig Roberts from the School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom.

This research, which evaluated 56 cases of food intake and morning sickness from 21 countries, found that overall nausea and vomiting was significantly linked to a high intake of meat, milk, eggs, sugars and stimulants.

In sharp contrast, women whose diet was totally or primarily plant based suffered very little or no morning sickness, and the more grains and beans a mother ate, the lower the probability of NVP.

The scientists stated that their results “provide further evidence for an association between diet and NVP prevalence across populations, and support for the idea that NVP serves an adaptive prophylactic function against potentially harmful foodstuffs”

Supreme Master TV:
As a registered nurse, could you tell us about a vegan diet while you’re pregnant?

Marsha(f): 
You need to be careful that you have a balanced diet. As a vegan, you need to make sure that you get calcium and B12 from plants and you plan carefully.

You really need to learn from a group of people that are already established and eating that kind of diet and from health people. And then you just eat very healthfully with tofu, beans, options as proteins.

HOST:
In an informal online forum hosted by www.vegsource.org, a pregnant mother asked if going pure vegan was likely to help her avoid morning sickness.

Several mothers responded, reporting that on a 100% pure vegan diet they experienced absolutely no morning sickness during any of their pregnancies.

M (f): 
I’ve been a vegetarian all my life. And I’ve been a vegan the last ten years.

M(f): 
I didn’t have any problems when I was pregnant. I wasn’t sick. I didn’t have any morning sickness. I was very, very blessed.

HOST:
Anna from Brisbane, Australia, is a vegan mother who is currently twenty-weeks pregnant. She also shares her thoughts on the topic.

Supreme Master TV:
Anna, how long have you been following a vegan diet?

Anna:
It’s been six or seven years now. I was raised as a vegetarian – a pure vegetarian diet with no egg. I was very lucky.

Supreme Master TV:
And have you had any morning sickness during this pregnancy?

Anna:
No, I haven’t. It’s very nice to be able to say I haven’t been sick. I’d be interested to know what the science says about it.

My mother who was a vegetarian and raised six children, she never had a day of morning sickness in all her pregnancies. So perhaps there’s something in the vegetarian/vegan approach.

HOST:
In Europe, our Hungarian Association member shared with us her experience following the vegan diet during her pregnancy with baby Matti, who recently turned one.

Supreme Master TV(f):
Have you experienced morning sickness?

Adrianna (F): 
No. I haven’t experienced morning sickness at all.

Supreme Master TV(f):
What did you eat during this period?

Adrianna (F):
I ate a lot of different grains. I ate rice, millet, quinoa almost everyday. I ate vegetables, fruits and tofu sometimes.

Adrianna (F):
I know that seaweed and wild plants contain enough vitamin B12 and one can even buy vitamin supplements and products enriched with B12.

Supreme Master TV(f):
How do you think being vegan helped you in your pregnancy?

Adrianna (F): 
I think it helped me enormously. During my entire pregnancy, I was perfectly well.

I could do physical labor all the time, even in the last couple of days, I could work in the garden. A few hours before the delivery, I took a long stroll in the forest for many hours. The delivery was rather pain-free.

There were no complications at all. In the first couple of months after the delivery I was full of energy too.

Supreme Master TV (f):
We’ve heard a lot about how vegan babies are actually developing much better. What’s your opinion about that?

M (f): 
That’s true. I was reading that babies born to vegan mothers weigh more. I gave birth to him in March and he weighed eight pounds seven ounces. (3.8kg) And he’s super healthy. He hasn’t been sick, and he didn’t have jaundice when he was born, and his APGAR (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration) rate’s nine (rated from 0 to 10).

And I’m a nurse, and so I’m just really happy and it’s really wonderful to be a vegetarian.

HOST:
As further research continues to be conducted, the evidence is mounting that a vegan diet is a very healthy alternative during pregnancy.

A vegan diet may reduce morning sickness, making this time a much more enjoyable experience for both mother and her developing baby.

Adrianna (F): 
I would like to advise women to courageously be vegan during their pregnancy because this is the best they can do for themselves, for their baby and the planet.