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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking vitamins before and during early pregnancy is associated with reduced risk for miscarriage, researchers have determined. However, it may be that the connection is related to generally healthy practices among vitamin takers.
Supplemental vitamin recommendations for women who are pregnant, or are planning to become pregnant, are aimed mainly at reducing the risk of birth defects, Hasan and colleagues note in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Their study provides evidence "that vitamins may reduce the risk of miscarriage as well," Hasan told Reuters Health.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5545CJ20090605
Many women who are trying to conceive take prenatal vitamins, and all women of childbearing age are advised to take vitamins to protect against birth defects. But a new study points to the potential power of vitamins to prevent miscarriage as well.
The research, published online this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology, comes from the population-based Right from the Start project headed by Katherine Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health.
There are many alternative medicine health care providers who think that drinking herbal teas during pregnancy is one way of providing optimal support to the health of a pregnant mother. However, there are studies that show green tea and pregnancy cannot really go together. The divide is causing some mainstream confusion about the real effects of drinking green tea during pregnancy period.
Teas are often the source of additional nutrients like iron, calcium and magnesium. For pregnant women, added nutrients will do wonders for the stage they are going through. The problem is there haven’t been enough studies to corroborate the safety of pregnant women who consume teas. And the few studies conducted on the safety of green tea for pregnant women are also too few for experts to make a conclusive stand. On the other hand, there are studies claiming that green tea and pregnancy is safe as long as the beverage is taken in moderation.
Experts advise that green tea and pregnancy is an acceptable combination as long as the pregnant women curb their intake of green tea to no more than 5 cups daily during the stage of pregnancy. This restriction is based on study results that show that although caffeine may not produce undesirable results and cause harm to the developing baby, there are still significant evidences that link slower fetal growth to daily consumption of 400 milligrams or more of caffeine, which can be translated to 6 or more cups of tea. Taking in too much caffeine may also bring on higher risk of late first of second trimester miscarriage.
The combination of green tea and pregnancy is not also viewed as beneficial for the reason that the effectiveness of folic acid may be affected. Folic acid is important in the prevention of neural tube defects in the first month after conception. A recent study highlighted the negative effects of green tea on folic acid. The study reported that a major compound in green tea called EGCG can cause the inactivation of an enzyme in the cancer cell called dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), which is important for folic acid utilization.
When the EGCG in green tea inactivates the DHFR in the cancer cell, the fetus will be unable to receive the complete folic acid benefits that will help prevent it from developing neural tube birth defects. It is also reported that even though the pregnant mother will continuously take folic acid supplements and eat greens rich in folate, there will still be an effect, albeit a slight one. However, it has been pointed out that the data for the EGCG-DHFR study is rather weak, so there hasn’t been enough conclusive evidence to prove that green tea indeed has adverse effects on folic acid.
With all these negative effects of green tea and pregnancy, some professionals still manage to stay steadfast to the widely recognized health benefits of green tea. According to them, drinking green tea while pregnant is safe so long as these women observe caution by drinking the beverage moderately. To stay on the safe side, experts recommend that approximately 2 or 4 cups of green tea a day would likely be a sensible dose. But the best advice when it comes to green tea and pregnancy would be to discuss the issue with a doctor first.
Article Tags: Green Tea, Pregnancy And Green Tea, Green Tea Health Benefit, Health Benefit Of Green Tea
About the Author:
Patricia Hammond is a green tea enthusiast. Get her FREE 7-Day GREEN TEA eCourse here or visit her site at www.YourHealthCenter.info for more health tips on weight loss, sleeping disorders and others.
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On Monday, we spoke about the benefits of progesterone and how easily it is stolen away due to stress. Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation when it comes to properly measuring progesterone and estrogen levels. Just as scripture teaches, “my people are being destroyed by lack of knowledge,” we hope we can help women better understand why they haven’t been getting the results they have been looking for – even after they have been told by their doctor…. ”everything looks normal.”
Measuring those Hormones
Often times women will tell me they had their hormones tested and were told everything was normal. Unfortunately a one time blood or saliva sample doesn’t give an accurate measurement to those hormones due to the fact that they fluctuate so much in a month. A more accurate picture and diagnosis can be made when several hormone samples in a month can be mapped out to determine if there are any abnormal hormonal variations.
I encourage anyone who is struggling with infertility, PMS, or other hormonal issues to taking anywhere from 7-11 saliva samples to get a clear and accurate picture of your monthly cycle. When you map out your monthly cycle, you can easily see if your hormones are ‘truly’ staying within their normal range. If you are struggling with infertility, it is very important to also measure your LH and FSH in addition to estrogen and progesterone.
Estrogen and progesterone tell us if your ovaries are getting the job done. While the LH and FSH are more indicative of the communication between your brain (pituitary) telling your ovaries to start the ovulation process.
The Stress Connection
Low levels of progesterone are often attributed to your adrenal glands stealing your progesterone. This is why it is recommended to first measure adrenal function and see how much stress we are truly placing on our body. The best way to measure your adrenal function is with a saliva test that measures both cortisol and DHEA.
Cortisol and DHEA are direct indicators to how much stress you are placing on the body. The constant demand for cortisol will eventually exhaust the adrenal glands and disrupt the production of your progesterone, estrogen, testosterone and DHEA. It is a basic cause and effect… and you will never get your reproductive hormones back to normal if your adrenal glands are burnt out.
A good ‘adrenal stress panel’ will include 4 cortisol measurements, 2 DHEA measurements as well as a measurement for your insulin levels. Measuring insulin is helpful and indicative to adrenal function, because high levels of cortisol trigger increased insulin which is associated with obesity, cravings, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
The healing process is more than swallowing a handful of supplements and begins by restoring normal function to the body. If stress is throwing your body out of balance, check to see if your adrenals need support. If they are - support them and then it will be easier to rebalancing those reproductive hormones.
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070511/27349_More_on_Progesterone.....htm
Infertility, miscarriage and C-sections are fast becoming important topics of discussion for anyone wanting to become pregnant. The rate of infertility, miscarriages and C-sections are at an all time high. Add everyday worry and anxiety to the equation and you will easily see how stress can contribute to these problems.
Stress, as it does in so many areas of our life interferes with the reproductive process and a major cause for infertility and miscarriages. The reason is simple, lack of progesterone.
The word itself, progesterone means “for gestation,” meaning we need this hormone, in its right balance if we want be become pregnant and stay pregnant. Progesterone nourishes the uterine lining in preparation of the implanted fertilized egg. It is progesterone that continual feeds and nourishes the uterus during pregnancy. Unfortunately, constant stress causes a decrease in your progesterone levels.
When you are constantly in that “fight or flight” mode because of stress your adrenal glands will produce additional cortisol and adrenaline. This is a normal bio-chemical process. The problem is that in order to make cortisol, your adrenal glands need progesterone. This causes your progesterone to be used in making your stress hormones as opposed to what it is designed to do, which is support your pregnancy.
The adrenal glands can not make cortisol without progesterone. It is literally a raw material needed by your adrenal glands to make cortisol. It’s often referred to as the ‘progesterone steal’ because your body will steal however much progesterone it needs to make cortisol. This is one of the primary reason some women are having a hard time with infertility and miscarriages, they don’t have enough progesterone available to conceive or maintain a pregnancy.
The body is designed for survival and when you are constantly in that “fight or flight” mode it is more important for the body to run away from the saber-tooth tiger than it is to have a baby. The constant demand for cortisol is going to reduce your levels of progesterone. Inadequate levels of progesterone not only interferes with the reproductive process, but it is another reason so many women struggle with PMS, hot flashes, night sweats, etc…. their progesterone is being stolen away to make cortisol. This whole progesterone steal process causes a deficiency, but also affects the balance of progesterone to estrogen and testosterone.
Supplementing with progesterone (I prefer sublingual progesterone over topical creams) can do wonders for so many women who are struggling with infertility, miscarriages, PMS, hot flashes, night sweats and other hormonal imbalances . Yet I always encourage my patients to identify where the stress is coming from and support those exhausted adrenal glands.
If we merely add progesterone without nourishing those adrenal glands, we are going to always have to supplement with progesterone. But if we strengthen our adrenal glands and manage our stress, we allow the adrenal glands to function the way they are designed to. Most importantly – you can never get your progesterone levels back to normal without first supporting and nourishing those exhausted adrenal glands.
Next time we will discuss how to accurately measure your hormone levels and how to support your progesterone.
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070507/27285_Progesterone:_A_Women's_Best_Friend_During_Pregnancy.htm
Folic acid should be added to all flour to help reduce birth defects, the UK's official food watchdog said last night.
The addition of the vitamin to all flour would be the first mandatory fortification of a food since the second world war.
Following much debate, the Food Standards Agency today issued its judgment which its board will consider next Thursday. If the board backs the evidence it could make the recommendation officially to ministers as early as next week.
Research has shown that adding folic acid to bread via white and brown wheat flour would help cut neural tube defects (NTDs), which include spina bifida and leave people severely disabled.
Between 700 and 900 pregnancies are affected by NTDs every year, with most diagnosed women opting for abortions.
Mandatory fortification has been introduced in the US, Canada and Chile, where it cut NTD rates by between 27% and 50%. But there is some scientific evidence that there could be unwanted side effects.
In papers to be submitted to next week's board meeting, FSA officials say that advice to pregnant women to take folic acid supplements has failed and recommends fortification of flour because four other vitamins have already been added to flour since the 1940s.
"Some might object to forced fortification," the FSA warns. Some health groups have objected to it being added to all flour to catch the women who are failing to take folic acid pills prescribed by doctors when they fall pregnant, but evidence suggests that it can help prevent spina bifida if taken before conception too.
An FSA consultation on the issue drew 202 responses from industry, consumer groups and individuals.
The baking industry raised practical concerns about the fortification of bread. It said bread-making flour could not easily be separated from other flours in mills.
The FSA's board previously considered the issue in 2002 and decided at that time not to go ahead with mandatory fortification due to concerns about the potential risks that folic acid can mask vitamin B12 deficiency in older people, as well as the move limiting consumer choice.
The board said that it wished to further review emerging evidence on the impact of fortification in other countries such as the US that had already moved to mandatory fortification.
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN), which drew up the advice, said it had addressed these concerns and the measure should be brought in alongside controls on voluntary fortification, advice on use of supplements, and long-term monitoring.
It recommends a review of the policy after five years which would include monitoring whether there were any links with changes in rates of cancers.
The report says: "Although supplementation with folic acid is advised prior to conception until the 12th week of pregnancy approximately half of all pregnancies are unplanned, which limits the value of recommendations.
"European Union countries with policies recommending women to consume folic acid supplements to reduce NTDs have observed no effect on NTD reduction."
It also rules that although folic acid can mask the effects of vitamin B12 deficiency, particularly anaemia, in older people, the quantities which would be added to bread were not enough to pose a risk. It says that voluntary fortification which currently exists would have to stop to make sure people were not getting too much.
The agency found public opinion divided, with slightly more people backing the move towards fortification.
Backstory
Folates - folic acid - are water-soluble forms of vitamin B9. These occur naturally in food, particularly vegetables and pulses and can also be taken as supplements. Folate is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells - particularly important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Low intake of folic acid can cause neural tube defects during pregnancy which can result in miscarriage, neonatal death and lifelong disability.
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,2078145,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Women who have a low body mass index before they become pregnant are 72% more likely to suffer a miscarriage in the first three months of pregnancy, but can reduce their risk significantly by taking supplements and eating fresh fruit and vegetables, according to study findings published online today.
These are some of the findings of a new study, which appears in the online edition of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The study, from a team based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, aimed to examine the association between biological, behavioural and lifestyle risk factors and the risk of miscarriage, which affects an estimated quarter of a million women in the UK every year.
Full article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=58157
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking vitamins before and during early pregnancy is associated with reduced risk for miscarriage, researchers have determined. However, it may be that the connection is related to generally healthy practices among vitamin takers.
