Van's Health Foods

Vitamins C and E reduce pre-eclampsia

When pregnant, women can have elevated blood pressure, a condition called pre-eclampsia, which may require inducing labor or surgical delivery. Doctors said antioxidants may lower chances of pre-eclampsia, and in this study, 110 pregnant woman with low levels of antioxidants took 1,000 mg of vitamin C plus 400 IU of vitamin E per day, or a placebo, from eight to 12 weeks pregnant through two weeks after giving birth. Nine of the woman developed pre-eclampsia, with eight of the cases in the placebo group, and one in the antioxidant group. Doctors concluded that women who are low in antioxidants may reduce the chances of pre-eclampsia by taking antioxidants during pregnancy.

Mom’s folate levels may reduce emotional problems in children

Doctors know that low folate levels in early pregnancy increase chances of neural tube defects, and wanted to test for a link to behavioral and emotional problems in children. In 3,209 Dutch women, researchers measured folic acid in the diet and folate levels in early pregnancy, and then followed up on children’s emotional and behavioral problems at age three.

Compared to kids whose moms had good folate levels, those whose moms were deficient in folate before pregnancy were 57 percent more likely to develop emotional problems by age three. Compared to children whose moms started taking folic acid supplements when pregnant, those whose mothers started taking folic acid later during pregnancy, or who did not take folic acid at all were 45 percent more likely to have emotional problems. The Netherlands does not require manufacturers to fortify foods with folic acid.

Reference: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research; May, 2012, Electronic Prepublication

From the September 2012 newsletter

Mom’s zinc improves children’s nervous systems

Doctors in this study wanted to see if mother’s zinc levels affected the health of their children’s nervous systems, and said that heart function is linked to nervous-system health. Researchers tested the heartbeat patterns in 165 children, at 4.5 years old, whose nutrient-deficient mothers had taken iron and folic acid with or without 25 mg of zinc per day while pregnant. Children whose moms had taken zinc had slower heart rate, and more balanced and controlled responses at rest and under stress than children whose moms hadn’t taken zinc.

Multivitamins increase birth weight

In the U.S., African-American women deliver preterm and low-birth-weight babies two to three times more ofter than Caucasian women. Low birth weigh is linked to poor mental and physical health later in life. Researchers measured multivitamins in the diets of 2,464 non-Hispanic white and black mothers from just before and during early pregnancy and found that, while there is no effect in babies of white women, babies born to black women who had taken multivitamins were more than a pound heavier on average than babies whose moms hadn’t taken multivitamins.

Reference: The Journal of Nutrition; 2011, Vol. 141, No. 2, 327-32

From the July 2011 newsletter