Think pregnancy is a great time to eat whatever, whenever, however much? Here’s bad news: New research suggests that junk food during pregnancy turns babies into junk food junkies
The study
Australian researchers from the University of Adelaide claim that pregnant moms who feast on meals packed with fat, salt & sugar are creating unhealthy habits in their unborn babies; junk food engages the same body chemistry as opium, cocaine & heroin, & turns unborn babies into junk food junkies
The logic
Such babies are born desensitized to the chemical reactions of fat, sugar & salt so researchers argue that they’ll end up eating more of it to reap the “feel good” effects; yes, this study has been conducted on rat pups, but the logic holds true for human babies too
More bad news
The medical community used to believe that the placenta would filter out any unnecessary nutrients; but in recent times it has become clear that this is not true; anything that goes into the mother’s diet–even before pregnancy–can influence foetal development
Writing on the wall
What a mother eats has also been linked to her baby’s likelihood of dealing with chronic diseases like obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome & diabetes later on in life; so time to wake up to the fact that pregnancy isn’t really time to eat for two
How much is good enough?
Believe it or not, some doctors now claim that a tiny foetus doesn’t need more than an extra apple & a yogurt in a day! That’s only in the second & third stages of pregnancy
Source: globalnews.ca
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