I spend a significant amount of time with each of my patients reviewing their lifestyle and dietary habits. Ultimately, we all have the same goal: happy healthy families. I strongly believe that part of my job as a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility physician is helping build healthier families. As I reviewed in previous posts, we believe that our habits before and during pregnancy can program many diseases in childhood and later in life.
I previously discussed the importance of whole grain diet as it relates to fertility. New research suggests yet another reason why you should consider whole grains, and stick with it throughout a pregnancy. Researchers found that children born to women with gestational diabetes who consumed the most refined grain (more than 156 grams per day) were twice as likely to be obese at age 7, compared to children born to women with gestational diabetes who ate the least amount of refined grain (less than 37 grams per day).
Take home point: eating refined carbs in pregnancy could increase the risk of your child being obese at a young age. “You are what you eat” … and based on this study, your future child will be too.
What you can do:
- Substitute one meal a day for something with more whole grains.
