Too many yeasty empty calories won’t do a body good — yet avoiding grains and wheat out of fear of “carbs” and “gluten” may be placing mothers, and their unborn babies, at risk. Specifically, declining consumption of foods fortified with folic acid — bread, pasta, cereal, and juice — might have grave consequences for natal health.
The market for gluten-free foods has grown 63 percent from 2012 – 2014. Nearly a quarter of consumers are currently eating or living with someone who eats gluten-free foods. The vast majority of such gluten-phobes are not among the roughly 2 million Americans affected by gluten intolerance.
For true celiac sufferers, the protein gluten triggers an autoimmune response that can damage the small intestine. For the rest of us, the benefits of avoiding gluten are debatable. Avoiding processed foods containing gluten won’t harm you — but obsessively following a gluten-free diet during pregnancy may deprive moms and growing babies of important nutrients such as folic acid.
Obsessively following a gluten-free diet during pregnancy may deprive moms and growing babies of key nutrients such as folic acid.
Folic acid is especially important for women who are pregnant or hoping to become pregnant. Lisa Raman is a registered nurse who is national director of patient and clinic services at the Spina Bifida Association of California, and she fears that fad diets will cause women to eliminate a lot of foods with specific benefits for pregnancy health.
“Women who do not get enough grains in their diets miss all of the folic acid fortification that is enriched in our grains. We do this because most women do not get enough naturally occurring folate,” Raman said. “If you cut out all of the grains that are fortified, you probably will be folic acid deficient, and you won’t get the important nutrition necessary, especially when pregnant.”
Folic acid, or folate, is a micronutrient essential to the neurological development of fetuses. Folate is also integral to a host of physiological functions throughout life. Folate is necessary for the proper formation of red-blood cells and its deficiency weakens our resistance to disease. While the recommended daily allowance of folic acid is 180 mg, research suggests that consuming twice this amount protects arteries and reduces the risk of heart disease.
Folate deficiency isn’t the only danger grain-phobia can pose.
“If you aren’t eating grains, your body is transforming the protein you are putting into your body into glucose,” said Paulette Lambert, director of nutrition at the California Health and Longevity Institute in Westlake Village, California. “When you’re pregnant, it is so important to have that protein used for fetal growth. When you aren’t eating grains, the protein is instead used for glucose. You and your child just aren’t getting adequate fuel.
“Bottom line — the environment of a fetus is vital to the health of the child, and nutrition plays a significant role,” Lambert said. “It is essential to provide a balanced diet when pregnant — and that includes grain. It’s not necessary to eat a huge amount, but around five servings a day is needed to ensure adequate nutrients essential for fetal health.”
[lz_virool paragraph=”5″]
Join the Discussion
Comments are currently closed.