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The Importance of Good Prenatal Nutrition
by Ralph E Halsey
http://www.rehnutrition.com

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 birthweight. 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 nutrtion
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 Joslin study is one more bit of evidence that it's
simply not true. Poor nutrition during pregnancy can have
serious, long-lasting effects on your baby's health -effects
that sometimes don't show up until adulthood.

If you're an expectant mother, or planning to become
pregnant soon, doctors recommend that you eat a healthy,
well-balanced diet that includes all the nutrients that you
and your baby need. According to the USDA, your body needs
200-300 more calories a day - not quite eating for two, but
a substantial increase above your usual intake.

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 nutrtional 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:

If you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant in the
next six months, a visit to a nutritionist can help you work
out a healthy eating and supplement plan that will provide
your body with all the nutrition it needs to grow a healthy
baby. He or she can help you fit your favorite foods into a
balanced diet, and make suggestions that will improve your
overall health.

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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