Atomic - vegetarian diet increases birth defects - thoughts?

[rainbowflower]

Just came across this: Do Children of Vegetarians Have More Birth Defects? | AnimalRights.Net
I know we don't recommend abstaining because that can increase the risk of birth defects, but if the vegetarian diet can also increase the risk of birth defects by 5x (allegedly), perhaps we should be suggesting that the LE pink dieters eat meat now and again anyway?

[Lavenderlime]

I'm a vegetarian and have been for 12 years and have two healthy ds's.

[Lavenderlime]

I don't eat Soya. I did when I was a child and allergic to milk until I was 7.

[rainbowflower]

I agree, the chance of having a child with a birth defect is tiny anyway but it seems that the risk is still increased. Most vegetarians will be just fine.

[Lavenderlime]

I think if it was a noteable increased risk then it would be more widely researched and pubilicised.
Such as smoking and drinking in pregnancy.

[zanacal]

I'm suspicious because of the site it comes from - I'd prefer to read other studies which say the same on non-biased sites!

[Out of the Blue]

All in all, it doesn't sound like the research was very sound. I do think that overeating soy (soya) is not good but a little is okay, especially if it comes in a less processed form (edamame).

"Another study, conducted at Nottingham University, found that whereas the average sex ratio of children born in Great Britain was 106 boys to every 100 girls, in vegetarian women the ratio was only 85 boys to every 100 girls. That study was widely criticized since it is sperm from the male that determines the sex of the child, though the researcher suggested that a vegetarian diet might somehow alter body chemistry to favor sperm carrying DNA for a female (if there is really a connection between vegetarianism and the sex of children, a much likelier explanation is that children born to vegetarian mothers are almost certainly much more likelier to have vegetarian fathers as well)."

Because a vegetarian diet is usually lower in protein and in some cases lower in cals, I think it's just T.W. at work here.

[zanacal]

I'm suspicious because of the site it comes from - I'd prefer to read other studies which say the same on non-biased sites!

I've just realised this doesn't really make sense - it should be the other way round on an animal rights website (and I didn't even read the study!) so ignore me

[atomic sagebrush]

Just came across this: Do Children of Vegetarians Have More Birth Defects? | AnimalRights.Net
I know we don't recommend abstaining because that can increase the risk of birth defects, but if the vegetarian diet can also increase the risk of birth defects by 5x (allegedly), perhaps we should be suggesting that the LE pink dieters eat meat now and again anyway?

NO I do not think the LE Dieters should start to eat meat!

You are suggesting that the reason why this might be true is because they're not eating meat. Like eating meat prevents birth defects somehow. Considering meat may cause cancer, and humanity has never eaten the massive quantities of meat that it is currently consuming, in the history of its entire existence, I kinda doubt that.

Abstaining really might cause birth defects because it harms sperm and we know for a fact that this occurs. This vegetarian-birth defect link is a correlation - meaning that vegetarians are either doing something or NOT doing something by virtue of being vegetarians, and that SOMETHING is what is causing a higher rate of birth defects. Not the presence or absence of meat in the diet.

Possibilities include not getting enough folic acid, iodine, or some other nutrient DURING pregnancy (most non-genetic birth defects occur during the first trimester.) Remember, these ladies were eating their diets throughout pregnancy and/or had been eating that way probably for many years before they got pg, so unlike LE Dieters who only diet for a few months, some vegans/vegetarians really MIGHT be chronically nutrient depleted. Most likely is that high soy intake is causing birth defects.

I have warnings up telling people to get enough folic acid and iodine, and also a warning about eating a lot of soy.

The Low Everything Diet provides ample amounts of protein, fat, calories, and all the nutrients. IT IS PERFECTLY SAFE and if anything, is better for most of us than the diet we usually follow.