Pregnant Mom’s lifestyles can affect their babies’ health

Everybody knows that Mom’s lifestyle habits bring into pregnancy can have lasting effects on her baby's health. It’s proofing by some research. A Dutch research found that some women who smoked, had low folic acid and had high blood pressure in early pregnancy had babies that were smaller in the first trimester of pregnancy and had a higher risk of complications later. This research followed 1,631 pregnant women from their first trimester through their pregnancies. The growth of their offspring was assessed until the children were 2.

"Our study demonstrates that several maternal physical characteristics and lifestyle habits, such as smoking and non-use of folic acid supplements, affect first-trimester fetal growth," said study senior author Dr. Vincent Jaddoe, a pediatric epidemiologist at Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Dr. Jaddoe said that the first trimester of pregnancy was very critical period for fetal growth and development. This is important, since it suggests that the fetus is already affected before pregnant women visit their midwife or obstetrician.

Researchers found that some special factors could affect to the babies size. Babies whose mothers smoked, had higher diastolic blood pressure readings (diastolic is the bottom number in blood pressure) and had low folic acid consumption were more likely to be smaller.

The babies who had small size during their first trimester pregnancy had a higher risk of certain complications in the pregnancy, such as premature birth or low birth weight.

Until this time there are a lot of women didn’t know that she was pregnant, sometimes until they have 2 month pregnancy still not know that she was pregnant. It means they have passed her 2 month of pregnancy that include in the first trimester that it was very important period.

"The fetus is very vulnerable, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. For women who are planning to become pregnant, it seems important to optimize their lifestyle habits before they become pregnant. From a health care perspective, we need to consider preconception care to help women to optimize their lifestyle habits before they become pregnant," said Jaddoe.

Source : www.healthyday.com

When Health Drinks are not Always Healthy

More than ever, the trend of healthy living is so popular right now. These are advertised in the basic products that people consume such as foods, drinks, and even in toiletries. But, among these, the piece that takes the cake is the healthy drinks, which can be bought almost everywhere.

But, with all the competitions and emergence of so many companies that produce the so-called "healthy drinks," not all drinks that are labeled as such are good for you. If you are one of those who are into healthy drinks, now is the time to be smart about these.

By now, you should know that not all that are advertised as "healthy drinks" are healthy. And by now, you should know how to determine which are the ones that can really help you achieve optimum health and the ones that don’t.

Labels to behold

The best way to ensure that you are taking in healthy stuff into your body is by taking time to choose the ones that you consume. This can be done by shopping your foods by yourself. Aside from having the time to choose what you want to eat, you can also check the labels of these foods—especially your favorite health drink—by yourself. When shopping for health drinks, make sure that you avoid those who have the following ingredients in them:

• phosphoric acid. This acid is the clear, colorless liquid that is usually used in detergents, fertilizers, food flavoring and other pharmaceuticals products. This should be avoided because it can lead to the irritation of the skin as well as the eyes once ingested.
• high fructose corn syrup. This is a concentrated sugar, which is the major cause of weight gain in many people especially to women. Aside from being among those that leads to obesity, high fructose corn syrup in some health drinks can also lead to abnormal blood sugar levels that may lead to chronic illnesses such diabetes.
• artificial flavors and sweeteners. More commonly called as "excito-toxins," artificial flavorings are so common in most health drinks that are flavored-based. These artificial flavors are the same ones that you may find in sweet juices, colas and candy bars. Health drinks that have these in them should be avoided to avoid pH imbalances in the blood.
• processed vitamins. Many people don’t realize it but not all vitamins can be healthy especially if these are liquefied, isolated, and heated. This is because these vitamins and minerals are proven to break down before the body can benefit from them.

Other things to look for include glycerol ester of wood rosin because these are acid forming, the modified food starch, and the yellow 6, yellow 5 and red 40 because these are all artificial coloring or dyes.

Looking for the healthy health drink

Although looking for a healthy drink can take some of your precious time, this will be worth it because you can ensure that you are taking in healthy elements that your body needs.