Eating Eggs In Pregnancy May Prevent Breast Cancer In Offspring

Eggs, Pregnancy and Breast Health

I'm always surprised at how much a pregnant woman can determine the health of her baby for years to come. Choline, which is found in eggs, may be one way to help your yet to be born child avoid breast cancer.

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 This interesting article talks about choline and how it may help. Read more:

This finding by a team of biologists at Boston University is the first to link choline consumption during pregnancy to breast cancer. It also is the first to identify possible choline-related genetic changes that affect breast cancer survival rates.

"We've known for a long time that some agents taken by pregnant women, such as diethylstibesterol, have adverse consequences for their daughters," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "But there's an upside. The emerging science of epigenetics has yielded a breakthrough. For the first time, we've learned that we might be able to prevent breast cancer as early as a mother's pregnancy."

The researchers made the discovery in rats by studying females whose mothers were fed varying amounts of choline during pregnancy. Different groups of pregnant rats received diets containing standard amounts of choline, no choline at all, or extra choline. Then the researchers treated the female offspring with a chemical that causes cancer of the mammary gland (breast cancer). Although animals in all groups developed mammary cancer, the daughters of mothers that had received extra choline during pregnancy had slow growing tumors while daughters of mothers that had no choline during pregnancy had fast growing tumors.
from 
www.sciencedaily.com

Folic Acid Before and During Pregnancy Reduces Chance of Autism

Folic Acid And Pregnancy Outcomes

I've always associated folic acid with reducing neural tube defects.
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 However, according to this article, folic acid can also help reduce the chance of autism spectrum disorders. Read more:

From the article:

The finding suggests that, in addition to women who already have conceived, those who are attempting to become pregnant should consider consuming folic acid supplements, the authors said.

The study found that women who each day consumed the recommended amount of folic acid (600 micrograms, or .6 milligrams) during the first month of pregnancy experienced a reduced risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder, specifically when the mother and/or her child had a specific genetic variant (MTHFR 677 C>T) associated with less efficient folate metabolism. The study will be published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"This research is congruent with the findings of earlier studies that suggest that improved neurodevelopmental outcomes are associated with folic acid intake in early pregnancy," said lead study author Rebecca J. Schmidt, assistant professor of public health sciences in the UC Davis School of Medicine and a researcher with the UC Davis MIND Institute. "It further supports recommendations that women with any chance of becoming pregnant should consider consuming folic acid at levels of 600 micrograms or greater per day." 
from: 

medicalnewstoday.com

More Twin Pregnancies? It's Not Just IVF

Twin Pregnancies Over 40, Not Just Age or Fertility Treatments

Most people automatically assume that the rise in twin pregnancies is due to the rise in the number of couples using assisted reproduction to conceive.
 However, according to the article below, the increase in twin pregnancies may also be because women in general are producing healthier embryos due to better nutrition. Read more:


The belief that IVF is behind the steady increase in the numbers of twins born over the past thirty years was challenged yesterday by a scientist speaking at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference. Professor Robert Jansen, Medical Director of Sydney IVF in Australia, said that his research had shown that improved nutrition, both maternal and in the lab (in the case of IVF), was producing better and stronger embryos.

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"Over the last 100 years there has been an increase in identical twinning through the division of the embryo into two, even without IVF", said Jansen, "and with the move to single embryo transfer with IVF this trend is obviously set to continue." He added that the present rate of identical twinning with IVF is between one-in-a-hundred and one-in-fifty, a little over twice the rate involved when getting pregnant naturally. 
from: 
aphroditewomenshealth.com

The Best Foods To Eat (or not eat) in Pregnancy

Pregnancy Over 40, Diet Matters

I was so nauseated my first trimester that I can't say I always ate healthy foods.
 For my series on foods for fertility and pregnancy:  see www.getpregnantover40.com
 I had to eat creamy usually high fat dairy just to soothe my stomach. But I made up for it my second and third trimester when I got back to eating fruits vegetables, fiber and calcium rich foods. Here is an article from WebMD about what to eat when pregnant. I should mention that the only thing I disagree with in this article is the use of artificial sweeteners. I've read from numerous sources that pregnant women should stay away from aspartame and other artificial sweeteners when pregnant. Read more:

• Choose at least one good source of vitamin C every day, such as oranges, grapefruits, strawberries, honeydew, papaya, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, green peppers, tomatoes, and mustard greens. Pregnant women need 70 mg of vitamin C a day.
• Choose at least one good source of folic acid every day, like dark green leafy vegetables, veal, and legumes (lima beans, black beans, black-eyed peas and chickpeas). Every pregnant woman needs at least 0.4 mg of folic acid per day to help prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida.
• Choose at least one source of vitamin A every other day. Sources of vitamin A include carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, spinach, water squash, turnip greens, beet greens, apricots, and cantaloupe. from: www.webmd.com