Vegan Nutrition with Jill Nussinow, MS, RD

Jill Nussinow is a Registered Dietitian, culinary educator, cookbook author, speaker and consultant and all around proponent of a plant-based diet. She teaches vegetarian and vegan cooking at Santa Rosa Junior College in California and other places around the US. She has a son who is almost 15. One of her greatest joys is sharing her enthusiasm for vegetables and pressure cooking with anyone who will listen.

I've been vegan for one year and one month. I am 32 years old now and want to plan a baby at the end of the year. The last three or so months I have started to notice that my periods are three weeks apart. ie: period 1 starts april 30th, period 2 starts May 20th. I'm worried about my menstruation as I've always (since 13 years old) been exactly 28 days - do you think there would be a connection with my vegan diet? I eat a lot of seitan and soy and take no real vitamins - as I am still not really sure what I should and shouldn't be taking. Please can you help? Thank you so much.

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Since I am not a doctor nor a menstruation expert, it's hard to answer your question. There are many factors that can influence your period, how long it is, how heavy and how often it occurs. I recommend that you discuss this with your doctor, especially in light of the fact that you want to get pregnant.

I recommend that you make sure that your diet is nutritionally adequate. This would be a good time to start taking a multivitamin with 100 percent of the RDA. Once you are pregnant, your doctor will likely recommend that you take a prenatal vitamin.

All nutrients are important but especially iron, Folic Acid, other B vitamins, Zinc and Omega 3 fatty acids, found in hemp, chia, walnuts and flax.

Preconception nutrition, for both the woman and man, makes a difference in the health outcome of the baby so this is a great time to be sure that you are in good health. Speak to your doctor about your periods and speak to a Registered Dietitian about your nutrition status.

Good luck.

Editor's Note: You might benefit from a nutrition consultation to get help structuring your diet for your health and for conception and pregnancy. Vegfamily offers consultations through our dietitian, Marty Davey.

Visit Jill's website TheVeggieQueen.com and her blog theveggiequeen.blogspot.com.

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Disclaimer: The advice given here is for eductional purposes only. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified health care provider.

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