What do you all think about the following, I am worried about even cutting out the bread now!

Quote:

You should carefully consult your health care professionals to help guide your diet during pregnancy -in your case during your anticipated pregnancy. You should work together with professional advice to make sure you are obtaining adequate and appropriate nutrition during pregnancy.

Here are souces, some less technical and some more technical, that provide information or cautions on dietary interventions which result in restriction of carbohydrate during pregnancy:


NON-TECHNICAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON CARBOHYDRATE NEEDS IN PREGNANCY

http://www.centerforwomenshealth.com/pregnancy.htm
…Pregnancy is one of the most nutritionally demanding periods of a woman's life. Gestation involves rapid cell division and organ development. An adequate supply of nutrients is essential to support this tremendous fetal growth. While caloric needs increase only 15 percent (300 cal/day) the requirements for some nutrients doubles during pregnancy. Pregnant women need to choose nutrient dense foods to assure adequate nutritional intake…

Complex Carbohydrates:
A pregnant woman's calories should come from all three energy sources: proteins, fats, and complex carbohydrates. If you restrict your carbohydrate intake during pregnancy you can put the fetus at risk. Without carbohydrates your body will burn proteins and fat for fuel. Two things happen physiologically with this: 1. There may not be enough protein available for the developing brain and nervous system of your baby, and 2. Burning fats can release ketones (an acid by product of fat metabolism) that can be destructive to fetal brain cells and the delicate acid-base balance of the fetal system. Low carbohydrate diets can be dangerous in pregnancy.

http://www.mdadvice.com/library/urpreg/wbw7.htm
Carbohydrates
There is no recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for carbohydrate intake during pregnancy. Calories from carbohydrates should make up about 60% of the total number of calories in your diet. Adequate carbohydrate intake can help avoid formation of ketones, which accumulate in the blood when carbohydrate intake is low. High levels of ketones may be harmful to the growing baby.

http://www.bidmc.harvard.edu/display.asp?leaf_id=2394
"Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate - The Major Player in Your Diet
“ Approximately half of the calories in your diet should come from carbohydrates. There is no specific number of grams of carbohydrate recommended because the amount of carbohydrate in the diet depends on caloric needs, which are highly variable. This recommendation may come as a surprise to you, as many think of pregnancy as a time when protein should constitute the majority of the diet…

Do Not Restrict Carbohydrates During Pregnancy
Restricting carbohydrates can be very dangerous, especially during pregnancy… When your body breaks down carbohydrates, glucose (sugar) is released. Your baby needs glucose to develop a health nervous system. If you do not take in enough carbohydrates, your body will, instead, begin to break down its fat reserves to nourish your baby. When fats are broken down, ketones (not glucose) are released. There is some evidence that these ketones may be harmful to the baby's developing nervous system. …”

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3234.htm
Prenatal Nutrition
Authored by Dominic Marchiano, MD, Fellow, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Coauthored by Serdar H Ural, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, University of Pennsylvania

"The demands of pregnancy necessitate additional dietary requirements. Obviously, additional energy (caloric) intake is required to support recommended weight gain. Because energy requirements in pregnancy are increased by 17% over the nonpregnant state, a woman of normal weight should consume an additional 126 kJ/d (300 kcal/d); however, this energy should be of high nutrient density. Nutrient density reflects the amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals per 418 kJ (100 kcal) of food.

Protein should comprise 20% of a normal pregnancy diet. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) in pregnancy is 60 g. Fortunately, most American diets already contain more than enough protein. Pregnant women should be aware that many animal sources of protein are very high in fat and might contribute to excessive weight gain; therefore, animal proteins should be taken sparingly. Fat should only comprise 30% of a normal pregnancy diet. Carbohydrates should comprise the remaining 50%. "

RESEARCH ON CARBOHYDRATE RESTRICTION/DEPRIVATION IN ANIMAL MODELS

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/qu...3&dopt=Abstract
Kubow S, Koski KG.
Maternal dietary glucose-lipid interactions modulate embryological development in vivo and in embryo culture.
Biol Reprod. 1995 Jan;52(1):145-55.
PMID: 7711173; UI: 95226562
“We suggest that a carbohydrate-free maternal diet with apparently adequate levels of essential fatty acid can contribute to embryonic growth retardation both in vivo and in vitro by perturbing embryonic essential fatty acid metabolism.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/qu...9&dopt=Abstract
Taylor SA, Shrader RE, Koski KG, Zeman FJ.
Maternal and embryonic response to a "carbohydrate-free" diet fed to rats.
J Nutr. 1983 Feb;113(2):253-67.
PMID: 6822899; UI: 83111210
“…whereas the remaining embryos succumbed to embryolethal conditions more directly related to the metabolic consequences of carbohydrate deprivation.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/qu...3&dopt=Abstract
Koski KG, Hill FW.
Effect of low carbohydrate diets during pregnancy on parturition and postnatal survival of the newborn rat pup.
J Nutr. 1986 Oct;116(10):1938-48.
PMID: 3772523; UI: 87035911
“…The data demonstrate that maternal dietary carbohydrate is required for fetal growth, normal parturition and postnatal survival of rat pups. The results indicate that late gestation, parturition and the neonatal period may be especially vulnerable to maternal carbohydrate deprivation.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/qu...0&dopt=Abstract
Romsos DR, Palmer HJ, Muiruri KL, Bennink MR.
Influence of a low carbohydrate diet on performance of pregnant and lactating dogs.
J Nutr. 1981 Apr;111(4):678-89.
PMID: 7218040; UI: 81169930
“…but fewer pups from bitches fed diet 2[carbohydrate free] were alive at birth (63%) than from bitches fed diet 1 [control diet with carbohydrate] (96%). Only 35% of the pups whelped by bitches fed diet 2 were alive at 3 days of age…. We concluded that pregnant bitches require dietary carbohydrate for optimal reproductive performance.”


HUMAN STUDIES: LONG-TERM OUTCOMES ANALYSIS ON ADULTS WHOSE MOTHERS WERE ADVISED TO INCREASE ANIMAL PROTEIN AND DECREASE CARBOHYDRATES AS A DIETARY INTERVENTION DURING PREGNANCY:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...t_uids=11751704
Shiell AW, Campbell-Brown M, Haselden S, Robinson S, Godfrey KM, Barker DJ.
High-meat, low-carbohydrate diet in pregnancy: relation to adult blood pressure in the offspring.
Hypertension. 2001 Dec 1;38(6):1282-8.
PMID: 11751704
"To examine the hypothesis that a high-animal protein, low-carbohydrate diet in pregnancy is associated with raised blood pressure in the adult offspring, we performed a follow-up study of 626 men and women in Motherwell, Scotland, whose mothers' food intake had been recorded during pregnancy. The mothers had taken part in a dietary intervention in which they were advised to eat 1 lb (0.45 kg) of red meat per day and to avoid carbohydrate-rich foods during pregnancy. The offspring were followed up at age 27 to 30 years, and their systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured. Women who reported greater consumption of meat and fish in the second half of pregnancy had offspring with higher systolic blood pressure in adult life (regression coefficient, 0.19 mm Hg per portion per week; 95% confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.35; P=0.02). High maternal consumption of fish, but not meat, was associated with higher diastolic blood pressure in the offspring (regression coefficient, 1.00 mm Hg per portion per week; 95% confidence interval, 0.18 to 1.82; P=0.02). These associations were independent of maternal blood pressure, body size, and smoking habits during pregnancy. Although we cannot exclude confounding by maternal saturated fat or salt intake, the findings support those of a study in Aberdeen showing higher blood pressure in men and women whose mothers had eaten a high-animal protein, low-carbohydrate diet in late pregnancy. These associations may reflect the metabolic stress imposed on the mother by an unbalanced diet in which high intakes of essential amino acids are not accompanied by the nutrients required to utilize them. "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...t_uids=10901561
Shiell AW, Campbell DM, Hall MH, Barker DJ.
Diet in late pregnancy and glucose-insulin metabolism of the offspring 40 years later.
BJOG. 2000 Jul;107(7):890-5.
PMID: 10901561
“…CONCLUSION: High intakes of protein and fat during pregnancy may impair development of the fetal pancreatic beta cells and lead to insulin deficiency in the offspring…”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...t_uids=12915635
Herrick K, Phillips DI, Haselden S, Shiell AW, Campbell-Brown M, Godfrey KM.
Maternal consumption of a high-meat, low-carbohydrate diet in late pregnancy: relation to adult cortisol concentrations in the offspring.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Aug;88(8):3554-60.
PMID: 12915635
"...The specific advice given to mothers in this study precludes direct application to other populations, but the findings provide the first human evidence that an unbalanced maternal diet during late pregnancy may program lifelong hypercortisolemia in the offspring."

Edited by Evelyn (01/17/06 04:51 PM)