Healthy Babies, Pregnancy, and the World of Nutrigenetics

photo: Photographs By Kenji Toma For Newsweek
Good foods (from left): Edamame, turmeric, broccoli, green tea

Good nutrition and supplements make a positive difference in our health and for most of us, without our health often not much else matters. Mothers-to-be can really impact the future health and lives of their children by making sure their bodies are well nourished, rested, and avoiding substances and environments that can be harmful to both them and their growing fetus.

Steer clear of these - alcohol, smoke, sugar-free foods containing aspartame or saccharine (such as diet sodas, candy, gum, etc.), too much intake of high-glycemic foods (such as white rice, bread, and potatoes).

Instead consume plenty of these - organic produce (fruits and vegetables), brown rice (Nijiya Japanese Market carries the best tasting organic brown rice we've tried), sprouted wheat bread, and proteins purchased from trusted places such as Whole Food Market, Prather Ranch Meats, etc.

For several years, the medical community disputed that supplements were necessary. It wasn't until a recent publication from JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) stated otherwise. Vitamins/minerals, amino acids, phytonutrients, glyconutrients (saccharides), fatty acids, and phytogenins should be supplemented into everyone's diet.

From the American Heritage Dictionary -
sup·ple·ment (spl-mnt) n.

1. Something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole.

The old nutrition paradigm was of a one-way process: "bad" foods gave you heart disease or cancer unless "good" genes intervened to protect you. New research suggests a continual interaction, in which certain foods enhance the action of protective (or harmful) genes, while others tend to suppress them. This supports what we know from observation, that some individuals are better adapted than others to survive a morning commute past a dozen doughnut shops. Individuals have widely varying responses to high- or low-fat diets, wine, salt, even exercise. Overwhelmingly, though, researchers expect that conventional dietary wisdom will hold for most people. [from MSNBC / Newsweek]