Pregnancy, as well as breastfeeding, weaning, and early childhood, are phases in which nutrition plays a delicate role in guaranteeing a state of well-being, especially in relation to the intake of some nutrients, including Vitamin B12. The attention that must be placed even more in the case in which the mother and the child follow a vegan diet and which must be extended to the whole period of the newborn’s early childhood.
Why is it important to control folate and B12 in pregnancy?
According to a study conducted by a group of researchers in Singapore – and published in the June 2018 issue of Clinical Nutrition – high levels of Folate associated with reduced amounts of Vitamin B12 are linked to a higher risk for the pregnant woman to develop gestational diabetes. Research that opens the door to further investigations to establish the role of micronutrients such as B12 in determining this risk factor. While the relationship between carbohydrate consumption and the risk of gestational diabetes has long been known, with a large number of supporting studies.
Veg diet? Integration can be useful, not just in pregnancy Contained in foods of animal origin such as fish, meat, eggs and dairy products, Vitamin B12 supports important functions of the body such as energy metabolism, blood cell production, the formation of red blood cells, homocysteine metabolism, as well as the functioning of the immune and nervous systems, is therefore one of the critical micronutrients that it is essential to keep under control in the case of a vegan diet, especially for pregnant women (especially in the second and third month), but also for children. This is recommended by the guidelines of the Scientific Committee of Ssnv, the Scientific Society of Vegetarian Nutrition, emphasizing how often it is necessary to resort to integration to guarantee correct blood levels of this important micronutrient. In these cases, poly vitamin formulations are particularly useful, able to provide the right amount of B vitamins in balanced doses.
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