Health Council advice to pregnant women: ‘Don’t eat too much soy’

Pregnant women who have a vegan or South Asian diet or who are lactose intolerant should be careful not to eat too much soy. That is the advice of the Health Council.

The new advice from the Health Council has to do with a newly established limit. Because soy has a relatively high concentration of isoflavones, it is wise not to consume more than 1 milligram per kilogram of body weight per day, according to the Council.

Risk to Fertility

Animal studies have shown that high exposure to isoflavones can lead to changes in the development of the sex organs, maturation of the sex organs and sometimes also in fertility. In France the upper limit applies to the entire population, in the Netherlands only to pregnant women.

Should You Ban Soy From Your Diet Now? No, information from the Nutrition Center shows that this is not necessary. Women can still eat and drink quite a lot of soy products every day to stay within the limit. For example, anyone weighing 64 kilograms can safely eat 310 grams of tofu, or 230 grams of soybeans, or 610 milliliters of soy yogurt, the Health Council calculates.

However, it is not recommended to use supplements with so-called phytoestrogens during pregnancy. It contains a lot of isoflavones.

PregnantHap

The Health Council has a lot more information about during pregnancy in its extensive advice. An accessible version can be found at the Nutrition Center, which provides insight into all scientific knowledge in the ZwangerHap app. It has received an update.

Most of the advice contained therein has remained unchanged for years. For example, alcohol consumption and eating liver are discouraged. Important things to keep in mind are still taking folic acid and vitamin D. “This is not new, but it appears that many pregnant women do not do this or, for example, start taking folic acid too late,” according to the Health Council. It advises women to start taking 400 micrograms of folic acid per day four weeks before conception and to continue taking it until the tenth week of pregnancy.

Calcium, iodine and iron

Important advice is also to pay close attention to hygiene, to drink no more than two cups of coffee a day, not to eat baked goods, eat fish twice a week and not to consume too much liquorice and certain herbal teas. It is also important that food contains sufficient calcium, iodine and iron. Tap water with lead in it should be avoided, but so should people who are not pregnant.

Source: ANP, Nutrition Center

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