LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Healthy Pregnancy

Breast Feeding vs the Best Baby Formula: More New Findings

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The eternal debate of Mother Nature vs Technology. Does breast feeding still beat the newest, best baby formula on the market? Your baby’s health is on the line.

It’s already pretty clear that breastfeeding is far superior to formula feeding.  The reasons are many and have been reviewed in a prior blog post that can be read here.  But, just in case these reasons are not enough to steer a new mother to breastfeeding, here’s an even bigger reason:

It’s because of what we do NOT know about breastfeeding.

What does this mean?  It means that there is an awful lot that we probably don’t know about what compounds are present in breastmilk that are not present in formula.  Just within the past decade or so we have added DHA to formula.  Then probiotics.  Then the fact that the bacterial composition in breast milk changes over time.  Then prebiotics to support the growth of the good bacteria.  Then the hormone visfatin that fights off obesity and diabetes was found in breastmilk. 

It seems like we continue to find out new aspects to breast feeding.  It then takes some time for these new findings to catch up to what companies are putting in the best baby formula money can buy.  This can only mean one thing.  Formula has always been, and always will be, inferior to breast feeding.  Breast milk is just far too complicated for us to understand and thus, far too complicated to reproduce in its entirety.

Just in case you think I’m off base and that the best baby formula now contains everything there is to be found in breast milk, let me direct you to this particular study.

Researchers looked at the antioxidant compounds present in breast feeding mothers during different stages of lactation–1, 4 and 13 weeks post partum.  First of all, the list of antioxidant compounds found in the breast milk was quite extensive (Tweet this).  The list included these classes of compounds:

The flavonoids (think compounds in tea, spices and vegetables):

  1. Epicatechin
  2. Epicatechin gallate
  3. Epigallocatechin gallate
  4. Naringenin
  5. Kaempferol
  6. Hesperetin
  7. Quercetin

The carotenoids (those colored pigments found in nature–think beta-carotene):

  1. Alpha-carotene
  2. Beta-carotene
  3. Alpha-cryptoxanthin
  4. Beta-cryptoxanthin
  5. Zeaxanthin
  6. Lutein
  7. Lycopene

The researchers found that the flavonoids remained relatively stable throughout the lactation period studied, but the carotenoids decreased over the time period studied.  Why this change occurred, researchers were not able to ascertain.  But clearly these are protective compounds available to breast feeding newborns that are not found in even the best baby formula.  And I’m sure we have not even begun to discover the other gems that Mother Nature has infused into breastmilk.

 If you have had a baby recently, did you feel that the hospital staff was undeniably dedicated to promoting breast feeding, or did you feel some pressure to use baby formula?

 

Low Maternal Dietary Intakes of Iron, Magnesium, and Niacin Are Associated with Spina Bifida in the Offspring – (06-18-04)

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Low Maternal Dietary Intakes of Iron, Magnesium, and Niacin Are Associated with Spina Bifida in the Offspring

This is one of the reasons I tell patients that the pharmaceutical prenatals are general some of the poorest quality and most expensive vitamins I’ve ever seen. Some of them are so blatantly poor as to only contain folic acid, iron and calcium. Most are nothing more than a basic support. Few contain biotin, magnesium and niacin. I don’t think there are ANY that contain all three. They are based on a pharmaceutical model–not a model of healthy pregnancy. They should all be tossed in the garbage where they belong (care to know how I really feel?).

Nutrition.org — Abstracts: Groenen et al. 134 (6): 1516 –

Read entire article here

How to Avoid Gestational Diabetes’ Later Risk of Diabetes

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Women should learn how to avoid gestational diabetes; it greatly increases risk of diabetes in the future. A single decision after pregnancy is critical.

A diagnosis of gestational diabetes is darn near a sure thing when it comes to developing diabetes later in life.  Few things in the medical literature are as strongly linked as gestational diabetes and the later development of diabetes, as I have covered in a previous article that can be read here.

Of course, just like everything else, while the risk is high, it is not completely set in stone and the choices that you make can influence your risk.  But the first factor is understanding just how high your risk is.  I have found that many women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes do not really get the complete picture from their obstetricians.  Most know there is some risk, but just not how strong.

Without the knowledge of the impending danger, I don’t think women who experience gestational diabetes will be as dedicated to the lifestyle changes that are needed.  These of course include the standard recommendations that have been covered in details in prior posts, but include short burst aerobic exercise, avoiding refined carbohydrates, stress management and an increased intake of fruits and vegetables.

Turns out that, while these are very important, there’s another surprising factor that can slash your risk of developing diabetes after diabetes in pregnancy.

Breastfeeding.

Yup.  Nursing the little newborn baby that seemingly created the gestational diabetes problem in the first place will help.  Turns out, just like every other situation, that Mother Nature knew what she was doing.  Even if you developed gestational diabetes, nursing your baby as Mother Nature intended can go a long way towards fixing the problem.

In this particular article, researchers looked at how breastfeeding affected the later risk of developing diabetes after having diabetes in pregnancy.  Here’s what they found:

  1. Postpartum diabetes risk was dependent upon the treatment received during pregnancy (diet was stronger at protecting against later development of diabetes)
  2. In those women who breastfed their infants, the development of diabetes occur 10 years later than in women who did not nurse their infants.  (Tweet this)
  3. Nursing for >3 months led to the lowest overall risks.

The bottom line is that, if you experience gestational diabetes while pregnant (of course, it is sort of by default “gestational”) lifestyle changes are not an option to lower the massive risk you will have for developing diabetes later in life.

But, as if you needed additional reasons to nurse your baby (and, as expected, I have covered this topic extensively in a prior blog post that can be read here), breastfeeding for more than 3 months will have a dramatic affect in your risk of developing diabetes later in life.

So, if you were diagnosed with gestational diabetes, did your obstetrician fully explain the risks that you face in the future?

 

Diet during pregnancy have long term consequences on the health of the infant – (04-08-04)

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Modulation of neonatal immunological tolerance to ovalbumin by maternal essential fatty acid intake

The basic question is, does the diet of a pregnant and nursing mother have long term consequences on the health of the infant? Of course the answer is yes. This study was done in rats but should transfer to humans as well; it confirms that poorer quality fats lead to a increase in allergy to ovalbumin (egg whites). Once again, however, we venture into the tricky world of liability.  As much as we try to avoid it, the big pink elephant in the room is the fact that parents are almost wholly to blame for the health of their children. Sure, there are genetic conditions that are not due to environment, but these are rare. As soon as we break down and start blaming the parents, then we can move on to educating them and hopefully changing behaviors.

Modulation of neonatal immunological tolerance to ovalbumin by maternal essential fatty acid intake – Pediatric Allergy Immunol..

Read entire article here

 

Pregnant and Have Allergies? You’re Going to Need This

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Pregnancy is rough enough as it is. Worsening allergies in pregnancy just makes it worse. Can you  do something to spare your unborn child the same fate?

Turns out that the answer may be yes, and the fix may be pretty simple.  But first, let’s go over some other factors during pregnancy that we already know contribute to problems in the as-yet unborn child.  The fist that pops to mind is the seemingly innoculous Tylenol.  Yes, I know that your OB told you to stay away from ibuprofen during pregnancy because of the potential side effects.  As an alternative, many are still recommending Tylenol / acetaminophen as a safe alternative.  It’s not.  In an older blog post, we discussed the links between paracematol (Tylenol) use during pregnancy and allergies and asthma in the child.

This actually makes sense because it is well accepted that Tylenol use is linked to development of allergies in an adult.

Other pregnancy factors that play a role in the child’s health include:

  1. Artificial sweeteners and sugar sweetened beverages have been linked to preterm birth. (Tweet this)
  2. Antidepressant use in 3rd trimester increases risk of infantile convulsions by 490%. (Tweet this)
  3. Eating polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (from grilling meat) in pregnancy is linked to ADHD and anxiety.
  4. Heavy exposure to a commonly used pesticide has been linked to brain damage in the infant.

There are others, but you get the idea.  The choices you make during pregnancy play a huge role in the future health of your child.  Some of the above may be a little more challenging, so I’ll give you an easy and inexpensive tool.

Vitamin D.

Yup.  How’s that for simple?  We already know that low vitamin D levels are linked to the development of obesity in children and wheeze in children.

This particular study looks at vitamin D levels in cord blood and what effect they had on development of eczema in the infant’s first year.  In particular:

  • Mom’s vitamin D levels were related to supplement use and sunlight (based on the season during testing) and NOT dietary intake (don’t rely on your milk to help you here)
  • When vitamin D cord blood was below 75 nmol/L (30 ng/ml) the risk of developing eczema was 266% higher. (Tweet this)

The bottom line is that vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy seems like a pretty good idea along with the use of probiotics to maintain a healthy bacterial flora in the mom.  Stick with nursing instead of formula and add in some probiotics occasionally during the first few months and the risk of eczema should be almost zilch.

Given the increasing evidence, should ob/gyn’s be recommending vitamin D to all their pregnant patients?

Maternal Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Use During Pregnancy – (02-16-04)

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Maternal Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Use During Pregnancy and Newborn Neurobehavior

Just the idea that anyone would think these drugs would be okay to take during pregnancy amazes me. Forget the fact that no long term studies have been done to identify any effects.

In this study we find multiple neurological changes in infants born to mothers taking SSRIs. Geez!! The more I think about this the scarier it becomes. It is entirely possibly that these developing infants will develop in the womb with “overexposed” post-synaptic transmission, with the birth and subsequent withdrawal from the SSRIs leading to serious side effects. Ever talked to anyone trying to get off Paxil?? Magnify this in an infants’ brain that has known nothing but a glut of serotonin-mediated activity.

Pediatrics — Abstracts: Zeskind and Stephens 113 (2): 368 –

Read entire article here

EFFECTS OF DRUGS DURING PREGNANCY ON THE FETUS – (04-15-02)

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Has the medicalisation of childbirth gone too far?

This article is along the same lines, with a focus on OB/GYN. I have many, many issues with the practice of this field as it is done today. I usually tell people that emergency medicine here in the US saves lives everyday and is based on clinic research. OB/GYN is at the opposite end of that scale. The widespread use of biopsy for abnormal paps when high dose folic acid may do; the lithotomy birth position being the one always used by not the position with the largest pelvic inlet; the episiotmy nightmares when the perineum would typically have remained intact; the reassurance that many drugs that are okay during pregnancy right up to the epidural (which is almost standard operating procedure) which are said not to have an effect on the fetus… The list is practically endless. But just in case you think I’m just a dumb chiropractor…check the medical literature yourself…

bmj.com Johanson et al. 324 (7342): 892 –

Read entire article here

HIGH PROTEIN DIET IN PREGNANCY CAUSE ELEVATED CORTISOL LEVEL IN INFANTS – (08-14-03)

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Maternal High-Meat, Low-Carb Diet in Late Pregnancy: Relation to Adult Cortisol Concentrations in the Offspring

Wow. This is an interesting approach. Basically, dietary choices in pregnancy in regards to a high protein diet can pre-program the infant for future elevated cortisol levels. Elevated cortisol can lead to a major negative impact on many factors such as insulin resistance, obesity and adrenal dysfunction.

We already have many other studies that link maternal diet with pre-programming the fetus in negative ways. With today’s pregnant woman being less healthy and less attentive to good nutrition than their mothers, where will this leave us in successive generations?

JCEM — Abstracts: Herrick et al. 88 (8): 3554 –

Read entire article here