The benefits of a healthy diet, which includes lots of fruits and veggies, on maternal health and birth outcomes has been well-documented in decades of peer reviewed studies.  Recently, new studies continue to show that diet can positively or negatively impact maternal health.

Fertility

A 2018 study in human reproduction found females under 35 undergoing in vitro fertilization had a 65% to 68% increased chance of success with a stronger adherence to the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes eating lots of fruits and veggies each day.  The Mediterranean diet already has many well-established health benefits such as weight loss, lowering of cholesterol and improved blood pressure control.  In addition to a regimen rich in fruits and vegetables, the Med diet also includes lots of nuts, complex grains and fish.

Why a positive effect on infertility?  The lead study author explains that “high intake of dietary antioxidants may help maintain a good environment in the endometrium which can lead to pregnancy.”  What food group has high amounts of antioxidants? Fruits and vegetables of course.

Pregnancy:

We continually hear about the effects of obesity on our health, but studies show that obesity during pregnancy can impact the baby’s health as well.  This week a large new study found that girls born to moms who were obese or had high blood sugar during pregnancy were more likely to enter puberty early.

For the study, the researchers examined the metabolic health of more than 15,000 women and the start of puberty in their daughters. A growing number of 6- to 11-year-old girls are entering puberty these days and researchers have been trying to determine potential causes.

“We know that maternal weight can influence childhood weight. What we are learning is that the in uteroenvironment may also affect the timing of future pubertal development in offspring, which makes sense since human brains are developed in utero and the brain releases hormones affecting puberty,” said study lead author Ai Kubo, Research Scientist, Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research.

Other studies have widely found that obesity during pregnancy can also result in an increased risk for children for future obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Public health initiatives to improve diets routinely cite the benefits of eating a plant-rich diet to prevent obesity as well as diseases, like cancer and heart disease.  With only one in 10 Americans eating enough fruits and veggies each day, it is critically important to promote healthier eating and support consumers’ choice to eat more produce everyday – organic or conventionally grown.

Fear-based messaging about produce safety developed to promote one growing method over another has been abandoned by numerous groups because they recognize the substantial impact of healthy eating on public health.  It is time for remaining groups who still disparage affordable and accessible produce to move away from this decades-old tactic and follow this advice from peer reviewed research: “Given the potential implications of competing messages about healthy eating, it is important that those who want to improve food production techniques and those who want to improve nutrition cooperate to create consistent messaging about healthy eating.”