Meat-rich diet impacts health of unborn baby?

Related tags Pregnancy

A new study will test the impact of an Atkins-type high-meat,
low-carbohydrate diet in late pregnancy on a mother's offspring.

While fans of the Atkins diet are waning, it is thought that some mothers still have an unbalanced diet during pregnancy.

This is important as researchers increasingly believe that conditions in the womb could have a significant impact on risk of adult disease, previously thought to be largely the result of genetics.

Researchers at the Universities of Southampton in the UK and Edinburgh in Scotland will analyse data from a group of almost 1,000 men and women born in Motherwell, Scotland, in the late 1960s, whose mothers' food intakes in pregnancy were recorded by a local obstetrician, Dr Kerr Grieve.

The doctor designed a diet for pregnant women that included one pound of meat per day and low carbohydrate intake, believing that this might help prevent pre-eclampsia, said lead researcher Dr Rebecca Reynolds.

Previous research on this group found that the mothers with less balanced diets had babies who grew up to have higher blood pressure, altered blood sugar levels and higher amounts of stress hormones: all factors which can predispose an individual to diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Dr Reynolds, based at the University of Edinburgh, told NutraIngredients.com that the new resarch would investigate further the hypothesis for high levels of stress hormones and future disease and a potential mechanism for this.

"If the mother eats an unbalanced diet this can trigger her body to produce increased amounts of stress hormones, which can then have long term effects on the stress responses of her unborn baby. These stress responses could be an important part of the link between development in the womb and health in later life."

Related topics Health and nutritional ingredients

Related news

Related products

show more

Discover Noochy Crisp® for health bars

Discover Noochy Crisp® for health bars

Content provided by Gnosis by Lesaffre USA | 23-May-2023 | Product Brochure

In the comfort food market, bars have a major place. Consumers are looking for healthier snacks and are more conscious of functional ingredients in their...

Immune support for everyone

Immune support for everyone

Content provided by Kerry | 16-May-2023 | Infographic

Consumers of all ages cite immune health as a top benefit driving their purchases, along with improving gut/digestive health.

H&F Pectin: Plant-based alternative to gelatine

H&F Pectin: Plant-based alternative to gelatine

Content provided by H&F – Innovative Solutions for your Product Developments | 12-May-2023 | Application Note

H&F Pectins are excellent as a plant-based alternative to gelatine in many applications.

Drinking with our eyes first

Drinking with our eyes first

Content provided by Lycored | 28-Apr-2023 | Product Brochure

Whether flavored waters, sports drinks, juices, mocktails or low alcoholic beverages, the beauty behind coloration doesn’t just lie in visual appeal, but...

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars