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They Say: We Are What Our Moms Ate
Did your mom dine on a diet of potato chips, moon pies and oodles of oreos or did she eat a healthy mix of veggies, proteins and vitamin enriched eats? New studies are being released that say that we are what our moms ate. And in turn, if you are a mom, your child will be what you ate. It’s an endless cycle of inherited food related ebb and flow. The big news? What mom ate before she got knocked up can play a critical role in the lifelong health of her offspring.
Researchers have found that the time between ovulation and conception could be critical for the health of the offspring. They found that maternal nutrition can play a big part. For example, a mother that is deficient in vitamin B12 and folic acid having kids who, when they reach middle age, may be fatter, become insulin resistant and have higher blood pressure due to early molecular changes that happened even before conception.
In a nutshell, Science Daily states that “These studies demonstrate that maternal nutrition, protein intake and level of fat in the diet may cause epigenetic changes in the developing fetus that can have long-term health consequences.”
Yeah, no pressure there. If you are a mom, do you even remember what you were consuming before your conceived?
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14 Comments
PlumbLucky commented on Jul 23 09 at 2:47 pmYeah, no pressure there. Sheesh. I can guess what I ate before, only because I’ve always had a decently healthy, very veggie and fruit filled diet. (Yeah, I was the kid that preferred carrot sticks to Snickers)
TolaniLucia commented on Jul 23 09 at 3:48 pm@ PlumbLucky. Your diet sounds a lot like my daughter. She really will forgo most of the toddler treats and standard kids foods for the greener side of things. It’s wonderful. I have not always been a healthy eater but when I was pregnant I craved fruit and veg.
Laura commented on Jul 23 09 at 11:05 pmOh, great. My kid is made up entirely of pumpkin scones and Thai coconut curry, the only things I could keep down during nine months o’ morning sickness.
BornFit commented on Jul 23 09 at 11:48 pmhmmmm can’t remember what I ate but I hope it was good after reading this!
leahsmom commented on Jul 24 09 at 8:58 amPumpkin scones and Thai curry sounds pretty awesome to me. . .
PlumbLucky commented on Jul 24 09 at 9:12 amI would have loved to crave pumpkin scones and Thai curry when I was preggers – I craved greasy fried chicken. Have I mentioned that on any given day, I do not like GFC at all? (I didn’t give in, because it was a craving for a specific kind of GFC that was a 50 minute drive one way) My husband on the other hand….
The booger likes pretty much anything except carrots and bananas. WTH? I thought babies were supposed to like those! But he will eat avocado and peas with no qualms!
MomofBeans commented on Jul 24 09 at 10:47 amMy daughter is made up of Chocolate Pop-Tarts and eggs w/hot sauce. I guess that explains why she is such a sweet and spicy little person.
Rachel Grunert commented on Jul 24 09 at 2:23 pmSounds like none of these scientists have ever had the pleasure of only being able to keep down rice krispies and toast in the first trimester. Only someone who has never been pregnant can spew out a line of BS like that. Who is funding the studies for these “Earth Shattering” discoveries?!?
amanda commented on Jul 24 09 at 2:51 pmum…the study is about what moms ate from OVULATION to CONCEPTION…not during the actual pregnancy. Rest assured, your first-trimester hoho’s and dingdongs didn’t create the deficiency…it was your ovulatory CHOCOLATE BINGE. ;)
Laura commented on Jul 24 09 at 3:09 pmWhatever. I’m now 9 mo. pregnant. Except for a happy puke-free window in my 2nd trimester when baby craved protein, I’ve been puking pretty much any time I dared go near a green leafy vegetable. Even last week when I dared consume broccoli. Yep, this baby will be made out of potato chips (which I normally could pass on), lemonade (yum, acidic tastes), ice cream, and Oreos. Oh well!
Linda commented on Jul 24 09 at 4:54 pmSkeptic here. I ate plenty of everything and still do: good, bad, and the unusual (ethnic cuisines, macrobiotics, and homemade Chinese herb soups). My first daughter has numerous food allergies: eggs, peanuts, seafood, wheat, cows milk. My mother ate a plenty of soy products and I’m allergic to soy. My mother also ate plenty of fresh fruits, which I can only consume if they come in a can. Some fresh fruits, and I’m assuming the chemicals, would itch my lips, swell my throat, and even sometimes restrict my airways. My sister is a strict vegan and eats only macrobiotic food. She had to because she is allergic to practically everything.
jan commented on Jul 25 09 at 3:47 pmJust to throw this out there: it looks like these studies were all very small studies on animal models, which are NOT good predictors of effects in humans. Don’t be too quick to draw conclusions from studies that are very incomplete at this point.
Beth commented on Jul 25 09 at 8:11 pmOh thank goodness! Because I don’t even want to think of what my kids are made of!
Cyresec commented on Jul 26 09 at 3:54 amMy poor Lillian. Well, I’m better now. Maybe she can be what I eat now instead of what I use to eat. No one wants to be a Doubble Whopper w/ Cheese.:)
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