If vegetarians can compensate for these deficiencies, their fertility should be normal and the risk of birth defects should not be much different than that of non-vegetarians. Diet also appears to be an important determinant of hormone levels, with studies showing that vegetarians have 20% lower estrogen levels than non-vegetarians of the same age.
Most vegetarians actually fall into three different dietary groups: lacto-ovo vegetarians, who can eat eggs, dairy, and plant products; Vegetarians, who only eat plant products. Vegans who completely avoid meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products are at the highest risk for low estrogen levels.
As a group of people, the main problem for vegetarians is protein deficiency. Protein is made up of amino acids. Among the 21 amino acids required by the human body, 9 cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from the diet. These nine decisive amino acids (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine) are often called \”essential amino acids\” \”. 
Since plants typically only have access to a few of these amino acids, vegetarians must find ways to combine different foods. Before pregnancy, not only do you need to consume 60 grams of protein every day, but more importantly, the type of protein must also have a good balance. Some foods that work together to enhance each other\’s nutritional needs to meet amino acid needs include corn and beans, peas and rice, and macaroni and cheese.
Meeting your daily protein and amino acid needs can be difficult for strict vegetarians, but it can be achieved if you pay special attention to combining certain foods.
Dietary zinc is often provided by meat products, so vegetarians may have difficulty consuming adequate amounts of this mineral. If you want to supplement your zinc diet with a vegetarian diet, beans, skin-on potatoes, green beans and macaroni are all good sources. We need to eat a lot of beans and potatoes to reach the recommended daily zinc intake of 20 mg. The easy way is to take a daily multivitamin.
Other common nutritional deficiencies encountered by vegetarians include vitamin B12 and iron deficiencies. Calcium and vitamin D deficiencies are also common in strict vegetarians. Vitamin B12 (also called riboflavin) deficiency occurs because plant products do not contain this vitamin.
Vegans must add fortified soy milk or a vitamin supplement to their diet to ensure adequate intake of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12Other sources include milk (and other dairy products), fortified breakfast cereals, and eggs.
Vegetarians are at high risk for nutritional deficiencies before pregnancy. Some vitamin and mineral deficiencies have been shown to delay pregnancy, increase miscarriage rates, and cause birth defects. For most vegetarians, the easiest and most reliable way to ensure your vitamin and mineral needs are met is to take a daily pre-pregnancy multivitamin. It is often difficult to meet these nutritional needs through diet alone.
