More than 90 percent of women who are trying for a baby may have marginal or low levels of vitamins that are essential for a healthy pregnancy, according to researchers, who say the problem is likely to worsen as vegetarian diets become more popular.
Tests on more than 1,700 women in the UK, New Zealand and Singapore who planned to conceive revealed that most were lacking nutrients found in abundance in meat and dairy products, many of which are crucial for healthy foetal development.
“We were surprised at how common low or marginal status was for these micronutrients,” said Keith Godfrey, an epidemiologist and lead author on the study at the University of Southampton. “For the individual, the simple answer is that unless you’re following a really high-quality diet, you may need to consider taking a supplement.”
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
The women, aged 18 to 38, were recruited to the Nipper study, an international trial that is exploring whether combinations of nutrients and probiotics before and during pregnancy can improve the health of mothers and their babies.
Doctors measured blood levels of vital nutrients when the women were recruited and then randomly assigned them to receive either a standard vitamin supplement for pregnant women that contained folic acid, beta-carotene, iron, calcium and iodine, or an enhanced version that had additional riboflavin, vitamins B6, B12 and D, probiotics, zinc and a form of sugar called myo-inositol.
Before conceiving, nine out of 10 women had marginal or low levels of folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12 or vitamin D, while many showed signs of vitamin B6 deficiency in late pregnancy, according to their report in Plos Medicine. As expected, the supplements improved the women’s vitamin levels, though not always to sufficient levels.
“More work needs to be done to identify the ideal quantities, but certainly the amounts we gave, which you can purchase over the counter at the chemist, were sufficient to substantially reduce the prevalence of deficiency,” Godfrey said.
Folic acid and vitamin D supplements are already recommended for women who are planning a pregnancy, but Wayne Cutfield, a co-author on the study and professor of paediatric endocrinology at the University of Auckland, said expectant mothers should also be given over-the-counter multivitamins.
While the study was broadly welcomed by researchers, some noted that Godfrey, Cutfield and others received grants from Nestle and were co-inventors on patent filings around the enhanced supplement. Godfrey said the authors had no financial interest in the patents and that the analysis and paper were produced independently of the company.
Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston Medical School, still had concerns, however.
“The conflict of interest goes beyond the research and the paper,” he said. “It can relate to how the science is communicated after publication.”
Asma Khalil, the vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study’s finding that 90 percent of women had marginal or low levels of some vitamins was concerning.
“This underscores the critical need for preconception and pregnancy supplementation, in amounts that can be bought over the counter,” she said.
She said the RCOG advised that all women and pregnant people maintain a healthy balanced diet and ensure they take folic acid and vitamin D supplements.
Judith Stephenson, of UCL, said: “A big plus is that this is a randomized clinical trial of supplements before pregnancy. The Nipper trial doesn’t provide all the answers but if I were preparing for a pregnancy today, I would try to eat a nutritious diet, take an over-the-counter supplement and check if I needed a higher dose of folic acid, for example if I had diabetes or obesity.”
Godfrey said the problem might become worse as society moves towards more plant-based diets, which can be low in vitamins B12 and D.
“We are going to have to get our heads around fortifying foods in a more substantial way,” he said. “And we’re also going to have to get our heads around growing plant-based foods with higher levels of these micronutrients.”
If you are a Western and especially a white foreign resident of Taiwan, you’ve undoubtedly had the experience of Taiwanese assuming you to be an English teacher. There are cultural and economic reasons for this, but one of the greatest determinants is the narrow range of work permit categories that exist for Taiwan’s foreign residents, which has in turn created an unofficial caste system for foreigners. Until recently, laowai (老外) — the Mandarin term for “foreigners,” which also implies citizenship in a rich, Western country and distinguishable from brown-skinned, southeast Asian migrant laborers, or wailao (外勞) — could only ever
Sept. 23 to Sept. 29 The construction of the Babao Irrigation Canal (八堡圳) was not going well. Large-scale irrigation structures were almost unheard of in Taiwan in 1709, but Shih Shih-pang (施世榜) was determined to divert water from the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) to the Changhua plain, where he owned land, to promote wet rice cultivation. According to legend, a mysterious old man only known as Mr. Lin (林先生) appeared and taught Shih how to use woven conical baskets filled with rocks called shigou (石笱) to control water diversion, as well as other techniques such as surveying terrain by observing shadows during
In recent weeks news outlets have been reporting on rising rents. Last year they hit a 27 year high. It seems only a matter of time before they become a serious political issue. Fortunately, there is a whole political party that is laser focused on this issue, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP). They could have had a seat or two in the legislature, or at least, be large enough to attract media attention to the rent issue from time to time. Unfortunately, in the last election, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) acted as a vote sink for
This is a film about two “fools,” according to the official synopsis. But admirable ones. In his late thirties, A-jen quits his high-paying tech job and buys a plot of land in the countryside, hoping to use municipal trash to revitalize the soil that has been contaminated by decades of pesticide and chemical fertilizer use. Brother An-ho, in his 60s, on the other hand, began using organic methods to revive the dead soil on his land 30 years ago despite the ridicule of his peers, methodically picking each pest off his produce by hand without killing them out of respect