Good Prenatal Nutrition - the Importance of It
If you needed one more reason to eat healthy while you’re pregnant, here it is. Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Massachusetts have found a link between prenatal nutrition and adult onset diabetes. In the study, a team of researchers led by Dr. Mary-Elizabeth Patti deliberately malnourished a group of mice during the third trimester of pregnancy.
As expected, the mice who were born to malnourished mothers were low birth weight. After birth, all the baby mice were fed a healthy diet, and within a few weeks, the low birth weight babies had caught up with their peers and seemed perfectly healthy. They weren’t, though. After reaching adulthood, the majority of mice from the malnourished group developed Type 2 diabetes. While low birthweight has been known as a risk factor for the development of diabetes, the Joslin study established an unmistakable link between prenatal nutrition and diabetes.
Even more important, the study at the Patti Labs at Joslin isolated one of the reasons behind that risk factor. They found that the mice whose mothers had had poor nutrition during the last trimester displayed impaired pancreatic functioning. While the pancreas seemed to be doing its job, secreting insulin, it didn’t respond properly to extra sugar in the blood. No matter how much sugar was in the blood, the low birthweight mice only produced limited levels of insulin.
The damage done to the pancreas in utero seems to be irreversible, even with proper nutrition after birth. In addition, while low birthweight babies are at risk for developing diabetes as adults because of pancreatic function, high birth weight babies (over 8 pounds) are also at increased risk because they’re resistant to insulin. It seems that too much is just as dangerous as too little.
Diabetes is a case in point. The study done at Joslin found that poor nutrition apparently damaged the fetus’ pancreas in utero. No amount of healthy eating after birth could repair that damage.
If you’re pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, what you eat is important not only for your own health, but for the health of your unborn child. Some nutritional deficiencies can make your pregnancy more difficult. A lack of iron, for example, can increase your chances of preeclampsia, which can lead to premature birth. Others, like not getting enough folic acid (vitamin B), can result in serious birth defects. And, as the Joslin study shows, some have effects that may not show up until your baby reaches adulthood.
The best thing that you can do for your baby is to eat a healthy, varied diet that will provide all the nutrients he or she needs to grow right. According to nutritionists, your body needs at least 200 extra calories daily to account for the additional stresses that it’s undergoing.
Based on that, the USDA recommends the following diet for pregnant women:
A healthy diet that is low in fat while providing all the recommended daily nutrients can help prevent gestational diabetes even in those women who are at risk of developing it.
It may be a good idea to ask your obstetrician or midwife for a referral to a good nutritionist. He or she can help you put together a healthy eating plan that will carry both you and your baby through pregnancy in the full bloom of health.
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