Do you want healthy children? Eat well – before, during and after!

It has long been known that people born underweight are more at risk of developing heart disease, strokes, hypertension and diabetes. According to more recent data, poor nutrition during fertilization and implantation of an egg into the uterine wall also has a detrimental effect on human health in the future.

The fact that a mother's nutrition has a very pronounced effect on the health of her children is a banal and obvious truth, but experts focus on the nutrition of pregnant and lactating women. English scientists from the University of Southampton, working under the guidance of Dr. Adam Watkins, have demonstrated that the mother's nutrition before conception of the child can have a strong impact on its viability in the future.

The authors kept female mice on a protein-depleted diet for three and a half days before ovulation, after which they provided them with copulation with males. The resulting mice had a whole set of congenital pathologies. Compared to the control group mice, they had high blood pressure, poorly functioning vessels that did not expand when exposed to vasodilators, and kidneys of abnormal size and shape. In addition, the mice born from underfed mothers also suffered from higher nervous activity: they had a worse indicative reflex – interest in the environment.

The authors warn that the results obtained cannot be directly extrapolated to humans, but they point to the need to study the possibility of such a relationship for women as well.

Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of ScienceDaily

17.04.2008