Vegetable Intake During Pregnancy

Reduces the Risk of Type 1 Diabetes in the Unborn Child

Nov 16, 2009 Alicia Richardson

Eating vegetables everyday confers many health benefits. A new study shows expectant mothers with high vegetable intake have babies with lower type 1 diabetes risk.

Swedish researchers discovered that pregnant women who ate leafy vegetables every day have children who are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes (T1D). The investigation - a collaboration between the Salgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg and Linkopping University - called the All Babies in Southeast Sweden Study (ABIS) involved 6,000 five-year olds.

Of the all the children tested for T1D, 3% had either elevated levels of antibodies that attack pancreatic beta (cells that secrete insulin) or fully developed T1D at age five. These risk markers were twice as common in children whose mothers rarely ate vegetables during their pregnancy. By comparison, the risk for T1D was lowest among children whose mothers ate vegetables everyday.

"This is the first study to show a link between vegetable intake during pregnancy and the risk of the child subsequently developing type 1 diabetes, but more studies of various kinds will be needed before we can say anything definitive. We cannot say for certaint on the basis of this study that it's the vegetables that have this protective effect, but other factors related to vegetable intake, such as women's standard of education, do not seem to explain the link. Nor can this protection be explained by other measured dietary factors or other known risk factors," said Hilde Brekke of the Salgrenska Academy.

Their study was published in the 2009 issue of Pediatric Diabetes.

The Need of Preventing the Onset of Diabetes

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2030, 366 million people will have diabetes. In Sweden, where the ABIS Study was conducted, it is reported that there are about 50,000 Swedes with type 1 diabetes. The researchers said type 1 diabetes is most common in Sweden and Finland.

In 2006, the United States reported 72,507 diabetes certified deaths , and 233,619 diabetes related deaths in 2005. Between 2002 and 2003, the US reported that 15,000 young people had type 1 diabetes while 3,700 children/young adults had type 2 diabetes.

By comparison, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Canada states that by 2010, 3 million Canadians will have diabetes, 300,000 of whom will have type 1 diabetes. Canada has the sixth highest incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children 14 years of age or younger in the world. For those living with type 1 diabetes, it means 1,460 needles a year, and about 2,189 finger blood samples annually (to test blood sugar levels). The symptoms of diabetes mellitus includes:

extreme thirst
frequent urination
clamminess or lethargy
sudden vision charges (blurred vision)
sudden weight loss (unlike weight gain seen in type 2 diabetes. 80% of persons with type 2 diabetes are either overweight or obese)
increased appetite
fruity or wine-like odor in the person's breath

Possible Protective Effects of Vegetables against Diabetes

As plant-derived foodstuffs, vegetables contain a wide array of nutrients, including carbohyrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Nutrients are compounds necessary for growth and development. Vegetables also contain phytochemicals or plant chemicals. Phytochemicals are substances that confer health beyond vitamins and minerals.There are about 8,000 known plant chemicals, many with multiple biologic functions vital to the plants themselves and to the human beings who consume them. Some of the well-studied phytochemicals include: anthocyanins, flavonoids, flavanoids, plant sterols, and so on that confer health by:

acting as antioxidants
working as antioxidant-syngergists (partners)
enhancing the natural immune system of the body
facilitating metabolic processes involved in boosting health
working directly in biological processes

People's nutritional needs vary depending on the person's life cycle. One size does not fit all. Because of nutrition's impact on the long-term well-being of mother and child, optimum nutrition is paramount during, before, and after pregnancy. There is accumulating evidence that eating vegetables everyday, reduces the risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

References:

Brekke HK et al. "Daily vegetable intake during pregnancy is negatively associated with islet autoimmunity in the offspring - the ABIS Study" Pediatric Diabetes Published online ahead of print: September 16, 2009

Ballester F et al. "Vegetable but not fruit intake during pregnancy is associated with newborn anthropotmetric measures" J of Nutrition March 2009;130(3):561-567

Villegas R et al. "Vegetables but not fruit consumption reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes

in Chinese women"J of Nutrition March 2008;138(2):574-580

Bazzano LA et al. "Intake of fruits, vegetables, and fruit juices and risk of diabetes in women" Diabetes Care July 2008; 31(7):1311-1317

"November is Diabetes Research Awareness Month" Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Canada Website 2009

The copyright of the article Vegetable Intake During Pregnancy in Pregnancy & Childbirth is owned by Alicia Richardson. Permission to republish Vegetable Intake During Pregnancy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.