When a woman is pregnant, she must watch what she eats.Both the defect and the excess of calories and fat impair the development of the baby, and healthy diets rich in vegetables such as the Mediterranean are highly recommended to ensure the health of the fetus, as confirmed by a study carried out by researchers from the Complutense University.
The children of women who eat little during pregnancy grow less, since the supply of glucose to the tissues is reduced to ensure that the brain develops properly. These effects of a deficit diet have been well studied, but the consequences of excessive calorie intake are not. The new work, which is published in the magazineEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition, indicates that when pregnant women have a proper diet, their childrenweigh between 3.3 and 3.5 kilograms at birth, which is considered a normal size. “However, more than half of women consume low-quality diets that contain many animal products rich in saturated fat and few carbohydrates from vegetables or legumes. In addition, more than a third follow a pattern far from the of the Mediterranean diet “, explained to SINC Francisco Sánchez-Muñiz, one of the researchers.
The excess of saturated fat influences the development of the pancreas and the insulin and glucose concentrations of the child, who can be born with a diabetogenic profile. “It is important to make mothers aware of the importance ofeat well during pregnancy, with balanced Mediterranean-type diets“Sánchez-Muñiz stated.” It is also urgent to continue studies in this same population to find out how children will evolve over time and thus avoid or, at least alleviate, the development of these highly prevalent diseases in our society. “
