Vegan women should eat meat if trying to conceive, fertility expert says

Women who typically follow a vegan diet and are trying for a baby should be eating “small amounts” of meat and fish, a fertility expert has said.

Grace Dugdale, a reproductive biologist at Balance Fertility, has warned that following a strictly vegan diet may make it more difficult for women to become pregnant.

Speaking in London at the Fertility Show on the weekend, Ms Dugdale said that if vegans and vegetarians had not been taking the necessary supplements, they may have catch-up work to do rebuilding their body’s store of these nutrients.

While a diet high in fruit, vegetables and pulses is healthy, cutting out meat and fish entirely could cause issues for women trying to conceive, she said.

Ms Dugdale said vegan patients often had low levels of key nutrients needed for development of the baby ( Image: Getty Images)

Speaking to Metro after the event, Ms Dugdale added: “I completely understand the ethical and environmental reasons why people are vegan and people must do what they feel is right for them.

“But I sometimes tell women trying to conceive who have depleted levels of these nutrients that they would benefit from starting to eat a small amount of meat and fish.”

Testing levels of vitamins and minerals would tell you if your diet was meeting the nutritional demands of the body, she said.

This was particularly important for vegan patients, who often had low levels of key nutrients needed for development of the baby.

“Eggs and dairy contain important nutrients needed for fertility and pregnancy,” Ms Dugdale said.

Also speaking at the show was Rehan Salim, consultant in gynaecology and reproductive medicine at Imperial College Healthcare.

Mr Salim spoke of women who wanted to freeze their eggs needing protein.

In order to fulfil this need, he advised them to eat lots of meat and lots of vegetables.

Despite Mr Salim’s advice, research in this area is mixed and suggests that many dietary deficiencies can be addressed using supplements.

According to recent research from the UK, published in 2021, a healthy vegan diet may in fact improve your fertility.

According to Plant Based News, a low-fat vegan diet could lead to a healthy weight, which meant better health for a female and an increased quality and count of male sperm.

And a Harvard School of Public Health study also showed ovulatory infertility was almost 40% more likely in women who ate more animal proteins.

This was compared to vegan women – who consumed most of their protein from beans, soy, and nuts.