I recently learned that Natalie Portman recently started eating eggs and dairy because she craved them during pregnancy. Good! (Update: I found out that she has had her baby. I don't keep up with celebrity news. Don't give a hoot. But anyway, this post is still relevant.)
Apparently it's not uncommon for vegans to crave eggs during pregnancy. The forum women assume that it's a craving for protein. They suggest to you eat more tofu scramble with sulfur salt and nutritional yeast. Since I craved eggs during pregnancy (when I was ovo-lacto), I think that it's more than just simply protein. I ate eight eggs a day and couldn't get enough of them. Prior to pregnancy, I didn't eat eggs all that often.
What is it with eggs that would benefit a growing brain and body inside your body?
Arachidonic acid is one of the most abundant fatty acids in the brain, and is present in similar quantities to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The two account for approximately 20% of its fatty acid content.[12] Like DHA, neurological health is reliant upon sufficient levels of arachidonic acid. Among other things, arachidonic acid helps to maintain hippocampal cell membrane fluidity.[13] It also helps protect the brain from oxidative stress by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma.[14] ARA also activates syntaxin-3 (STX-3), a protein involved in the growth and repair of neurons.[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachidonic_acid
Choline. I think this helped the pregnancy induced brain fog that I had. Brain food to the max! You're growing a brain in your womb!
Choline and its metabolites are needed for three main physiological purposes: structural integrity and signaling roles for cell membranes, cholinergic neurotransmission (acetylcholine synthesis), and a major source for methyl groups via its metabolite, trimethylglycine (betaine) which participates in the S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) synthesis pathways.
Choline deficiency signs
Most common signs of choline deficiencies are fatty liver and hemorrhagic kidney necrosis. Dietary intake of a choline full diet can reduce the severity of the deficiency. A study of this on animals has created some controversy due to the inconsistency in dietary modifying factors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choline
Cholesterol. This NUTRIENT might be something both you and your baby requires. This research found a significant correlation between decrease in cholesterol and depressive symptoms postpartum that remained even after adjustment for progesterone concentration. Source.
DHA. Eggs produced by hens fed a diet of greens and insects contain higher levels of n−3 fatty acids than those produced by chickens fed corn or soybeans.[122] In addition to feeding chickens insects and greens, fish oils may be added to their diets to increase the n-3 fatty acid concentrations in eggs.[123]
The addition of flax and canola seeds to the diets of chickens, both good sources of alpha-linolenic acid, increases the omega-3 content of the eggs, predominantly DHA.[124]
The addition of green algae or seaweed to the diets boosts the content of DHA and EPA content, which are the forms of omega-3 approved by the FDA for medical claims. A common consumer complaint is "Omega-3 eggs can sometimes have a fishy taste if the hens are fed marine oils."[125] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#Eggs
