Posts for 'Diet' Category

A new study has shown that kids of mothers whose blood glucose (sugar) was high during pregnancy are more likely to have low insulin sensitivity-a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. "We know that children born to women with type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes, or who have high blood sugar during pregnancy are at risk of becoming diabetic themselves.

This study suggests that the children’s increased risk appears to be due, at least in part, to their prenatal exposure to relatively high maternal blood glucose," said study co-author Paula Chandler-Laney, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Chandler-Laney and her colleagues studied 21 children ages 5 to 10 years and measured the children’s sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that regulates sugar in the blood. They also evaluated the pregnancy medical records of the children’s mothers to determine maternal blood sugar concentration during the oral glucose tolerance test.

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WE plan meticulously for many things in life. We plan to buy a new home by saving up money and doing research about property. We plan our weddings feverishly, poring over bridal magazines and choosing flowers with great excitement. We plan our career path by making strategic decisions in our workplace that will help us climb up the ladder of success.

If a woman were to put as much care and thought into planning her pregnancy, she can contribute a lot towards ensuring the health and well-being of her baby, as well as eliminating many of the uncertainties that are present during pregnancy. The state of your physical health before you conceive plays a huge role in determining whether you will conceive and carry through a healthy pregnancy.Who needs a pregnancy planner? Every woman of reproductive age is a potential mum and should be aware of her body and health even if she is not consciously planning to have a baby.

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“What women eat while they are in the early stages of pregnancy influences the sex and health of their unborn baby”, The Daily Telegraph reported. It said that eating breakfast and a high fat diet around the time of conception made it more likely the offspring would be a boy.

The newspaper article is actually reporting two different studies. The findings about the effect of a high fat diet and breakfast on a child’s gender are from a study in humans that the newspaper says was published two years ago.

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Mothers who eat plenty of vegetables during pregnancy will have children who are less likely to have type 1 diabetes, a new study suggests. The risk of type 1 diabetes was twice as high in children whose mothers rarely ate vegetables during pregnancy, and lowest among children whose mothers ate vegetables every day of their pregnancy, according to the study published in the latest issue of the journal Pediatric Diabetes.

The study was based on analysis of 6,000 five-year-olds, of whom three percent either had fully developed type 1 diabetes or had elevated levels of antibodies that indicate a risk of developing the disease. The study, conducted by researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, is the first of its kind to show a link between vegetable intake during pregnancy and the risk of the child subsequently developing type 1 diabetes.

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Knowing what to eat when you're pregnant isn't as easy as it sounds. Our hormones are all over the place and many women feel ill for a large part of their pregnancy. We spoke to dietician Angie Jefferson and consultant to Pregnacare, who gave us her top 10 tips for healthy eating during pregnancy.
1. Eat starch
Base every meal on starchy foods such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, chapatis, yams and breakfast cereals.
Starchy foods are an important part of any diet, providing a main source of energy for both the body and brain (and the baby with the energy needed to grow). They also provide bulk to the diet keeping you full and satisfied.
During pregnancy hormonal changes affect the body's use of blood sugar and so a regular intake of carbohydrates to top up blood sugar levels will help combat fatigue.
2. Eat lots of fruit and veg
Current advice is to aim for at least 5 servings of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. The good news is that fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced all count (although juice can only be counted as 1 serving each day no matter how much is drunk).

3. Top up your protein
Choose foods rich in protein such as lean meat, chicken, fish (aim for at least two servings of fish a week, including one of oily fish), eggs and pulses (such as beans and lentils). These foods are also great sources of iron.
4. Up your fibre intake
Eat more fibre-rich foods such as wholegrain breads and pasta, brown rice, wholegrain or high fibre breakfast cereals, pulses, fruit & vegetables.
Constipation and piles are both common problems during pregnancy and are best prevented by eating a high-fibre diet.

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