So many times I lose contact with clients after they conceive…it's as if the only thing nutrition is important for, is that one crucial moment. But nutrition is important all the way through pregnancy and breastfeeding! Here's more information on why you need to eat well long after you have been given your official due date.
In a population of mice, one group was fed a regular diet, another group was given a diet deficient in choline, and one was given a diet deficient in riboflavin. These rats were then mated. While the rats were pregnant, they were sacrificed so that their embryos could be examined. (I know, it bothers me too…I refused to accept a very nice research assistantship in grad school because it would have required me to sacrifice rats…I'm just reporting the findings here.)
Here are those findings:
1. Choline deficient rats had higher plasma homocysteine levels. That is an indication of an inflammatory process.
Did you know, egg yolks are a really good source of choline? Maybe you shouldn't be so afraid of the cholesterol…which, by the way…you need to make progesterone and estrogen!
2. Riboflavin deficient rats had taken longer to conceive, and their embryos were smaller.
Another possible explanation for the recent finding that women who consume dairy products seem to be more fertile than those who don't.
3. Both choline-deficient and riboflavin-deficient rats' embryos had more heart defects.
Chan J, Deng L, Mikael LG, Yan J, Pickell L, Wu Q, Caudill MA, Rozen R. Low dietary choline and low dietary riboflavin during pregnancy influence reproductive outcomes and heart development in mice. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Feb 17. [Epub ahead of print]