Veggies Protect the Unborn

A mounting body of evidence suggests that overindulging in junk food during pregnancy could have negative long-term consequences for the baby’s health. And scrimping on fruit and vegetables during pregnancy may significantly increase the risk of Type 1 diabetes for the unborn baby.

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An analysis of the dietary habits of mothers of 5,724 children compared them with their children’s markers for diabetes, which was measured by blood tests. The results, published in Pediatric Diabetes, found that expectant moms who ate vegetables a mere three to five times a week, compared to daily, gave birth to kids with a 70 percent increased risk of a predisposition to diabetes.

Moms who ate the fewest vegetables gave birth to kids with a more than 70 percent increased risk of being predisposed to diabetes.

“We know there are epigenetic changes that can occur during pregnancy — changes that happen to the genes but in a non-hereditary way,” clinical nutritionist and researcher Kathie Ferbas said in an interview with LifeZette. “If you’re mindful of eating vegetables and (avoiding) processed carbohydrates, then you may be keeping your insulin levels more stable,” she said, which in turn provides a healthier gestational environment for the fetus.

Related: The Virtues of Veggies

Dr. Anita Singh, the director of Lifestart Fertility Center in Agoura Hills, California, concurred. In her practice, she actively counsels pregnant moms to find ways to increase their produce intake.

“A well-balanced diet with fresh fruits and vegetables is very important for optimal maternal and fetal health,” she told LifeZette. “Dietary needs during pregnancy include getting the right amount of calories for appropriate weight gain, and also the right nutrients. Maternal health is linked to fetal health.”

Doctors need to give more nutritional guidance to patients, she said.

“Expectant mothers are very curious about what they should or should not eat during pregnancy,” she said. “Expectant moms make dietary changes if they know it will help them deliver a healthy baby.”

Among the powerhouse veggies she recommends:

• Cruciferous veggies, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, may offer particular protection versus childhood diabetes. These vegetables all contain sulforaphane, which may protect against some of the free-radical damage caused by elevated blood sugar.
• Shiitake mushrooms contribute to getting adequate copper — cashews and soybeans are also good sources. Research links copper intake to protection against premature births.
• Chard, mustard greens, kale, and romaine lettuce. Vitamin K from leafy greens may also help reduce insulin resistance.
• Avocado, okra, and asparagus — fiber-rich and filled with folate — are key players in fetal health, particularly with regard to reducing risk of neural tube defects.

While processed breads, crackers and cereals are enriched with folic acid, Ferbas, who runs the Malibu Center for Clinical Nutrition, said it’s important to get vitamin B in its natural form.

“Eating lots of junk food, as opposed to fruit and vegetables, can be considered hormonal stressors to the system,” she said. “You’re elevating insulin levels — and levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), and these all predispose the unborn child to diabetes and obesity.”