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| Q: |
My husband’s family is all overweight. I recently heard that eating soy during pregnancy can prevent obesity in my child as an adult. Is this true? |
| A: |
A new study from Duke University Medical Center published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives found that when pregnant mice consumed ample amounts of genistein, a nutrient found in soy, their offspring weighed less as adults. Mice whose mothers did not eat genistein while pregnant were twice the weight as adults as their soy-fed peers.
“We are increasingly finding that our parents and even our grandparents’ nutritional status and environmental exposures can regulate our future risk of disease,” Randy Jirtle, professor of radiation oncology and senior author of the study told The New York Times.
Although the effect has not been studied in humans, Jirtle believes that the impact of feeding infants soy milk should be assessed for its obesity prevention benefit later in life.
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| Q: |
Are artificial sweeteners safe during pregnancy? |
| A: |
The jury is still out on the answer to this question, but avoiding them is probably best according to Janet Starr Hull, Ph.D., a nutritionist and author of "Splenda: Is it Safe or Not?"(Pickle Press: 2005). Splenda® (sucralose) and Equal® (aspartame) have not been found to harm the fetus, but they are still chemicals and cross the placenta. Sweet‘n Low® (saccharin) has been found to be especially harmful since the fetus metabolizes it slowly, and neonatal exposure to it has been linked to increased cancer risk.
It’s best to consume healthy, nutritious foods when pregnant. For a low-calorie alternative to diet sodas, sip on water with a wedge of lime or lemon. For more information on how to eat healthy during pregnancy, please click on the Stork’s Nutrition Program link under Nutrition on this website.
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| Q: |
My doctor wants me to take extra folate while I’m pregnant, but I heard that it can cause breast cancer. What should I do? |
| A: |
You should continue to take the added folate. Folate has been repeatedly shown to prevent neural tube defects in unborn children. While it’s true that a British study found an increased risk of death from breast cancer among a group of women who had taken folate decades ago while pregnant, the study was flawed. Not only did the women in the study take five times as much folate as doctors today recommend, but also the study was so small that its results could be attributable to chance. Other research has found that folate may in fact decrease the risk of breast cancer, as well as colon cancer and heart disease.
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| Q: |
My husband and I are trying to conceive. I know that smoking can affect a man’s sperm. Can chewing tobacco also affect it? |
| A: |
Yes, it can. Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S. and the Karthekeya Center in India found that men who chew tobacco do not have as healthy sperm as those who do not take part in the activity. The damage to the sperm increases with the frequency of tobacco chewing.
The researchers examined semen quality reports from more than 600 men in India who were undergoing infertility evaluations. They measured the frequency of their tobacco chewing and evaluated sperm quality, motility (movement), morphology (shape) and viability. They found that men who chew tobacco only “moderately” had largely normal sperm parameters. However, those who used tobacco more frequently were more likely to have poorer-performing sperm. Their findings were published in the journal Fertility & Sterility.
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| Q: |
I have type 2 diabetes and am trying to get it under control so that I can conceive. I recently heard that coffee can help lower blood pressure and help control type 2 diabetes. Is this true? |
| A: |
Because it’s plant-derived, coffee contains many of the same beneficial compounds as those found in vegetables, including antioxidants, according to recent research conducted by Jane Shearer, Ph.D., a biochemist at the University of Calgary.
Scientists at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta reported that it’s not regular coffee but decaf that increases LDL cholesterol, raising the risk of heart disease. The Nurse’s Health Study found that heavy coffee drinkers had lower rates of hypertension, indicating that coffee might be protective. Compared with those who don’t drink java, coffee drinkers have lower risks for liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and some types of ovarian cancer.
Ask your doctor what’s best for you. Most experts still advise limiting coffee intake to two to three cups daily.
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