Nutrition For Fetal Health
Written by admin on November 5, 2009
Good nutrition is important at any time, but is particularly vital for expecting mothers - in fact, a recent study suggests that eating well and taking multi-vitamins may be even more important at this time than was previously thought.
As early as the 1950s, doctors began to recognize the significance of folate, or folic acid, for fetuses in the earliest stages of development. Adequate levels of folic acid (a B vitamin) can help prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida; unfortunately, the crucial time period when it should be taken is often over before a woman even realizes that's she's pregnant.
For that reason, it's recommended that all women of child-bearing age ensure they're getting enough folic acid. The task was made a little easier when folate became a standard additive in flour-based foods such as bread and pasta; but many women who are pregnant or trying to conceive choose to supplement their diet with a prenatal vitamin high in folic acid and iron.
Researchers have recently uncovered a similar association between nutrition and the development of childhood brain tumors. Although the study was not conclusive and the research sample size was small, the results supported an earlier study looking into the possible causes of brain tumors in children.
The research found that women who took supplements close to the time of conception, and who ate foods high in iron and folic acid, were less likely to have children with two possible types of brain tumors - medulloblastoma and primitive neuroectodermal. However, vitamins taken later in pregnancy did not seem to offer the same benefits.
The study also looked at possible links between the consumption of cured meats (containing nitrates and nitrosamines) and brain tumors. These substances have been found to induce nervous system tumors in animals, but the research did not find a correlation between women who ate cured meats and the development of brain tumors in children.
Women in the United States and Canada were interviewed for this case-control study - 315 mothers of children who had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma or primitive neuroectodermal tumors before the age of six, as well as 315 mothers of age and area code-matched control subjects.
Dr. Greta Bunin, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, conducted the research along with colleagues at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, with funding from the National Cancer Institute. They published their results in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.
Jeff Matson is a nutritional consultant, and a regular contributor to vitamin-insight.com an online guide to the wonderful world of vitamins and supplements, with information about the benefits of Vitamins, Vitamin Supplements, Health Food and more.
Jeff Matson
http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/nutrition-for-fetal-health-79085.html
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