Bellamy’s Organic. You don’t only choose your baby’s name but their eating habits, too

Research can be a bit scary, but forewarned is forearmed. As if pregnant women didn’t have enough to worry about, now it seems their poor eating habits are handed on – even before their baby’s name!

A baby exposed to poor nutrition, passes those same poor eating habits on when she in turn becomes pregnant.  A mother’s eating habits can trigger a permanent genetic change in the child’s makeup while in the womb, spawning multiple generations of overweight people. So it now appears that a pregnant woman’s lifestyle and diet can switch on or off obesity genes in her foetus.

These findings are typical of a new area of genetic research called “Epigenetics”.  Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype, caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence. We’ve long had the debate about “nature” vs “nurture”; Is it your genes or your environment that shapes you?  It seems, from current understanding, genes are the dominant factor but environment plays a key role in how the genome is “expressed”. Chemical markers can attach to the genes and essentially modify their behaviour, according to how we live our lives.

So, as we’ve said in this blog many times, you really are what you eat. So, while you’re struggling to work out your baby’s name – something they will have for life – consider this comment from author Professor Gluckman (Fat, fate and disease):

“We can’t do anything about genetics, but we can change the obese genetic environment by focusing on early life”.

By eating the right foods yourself, not only will you feel healthier, you’ll help pass something else on to your baby’s genetics, too: good eating habits – something else that they could keep for life.

Dr Shirley Alexander who run’s the weight management program at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital says it isn’t enough to lose weight just before pregnancy:

“That is almost not enough to save the risks to the neonate. Healthy maternal weight with no ups and downs is better for you”.

So try to eat fresh food whenever you can throughout your pregnancy, and do try organic foods – there’s plenty at local markets. Organic fruit and vegetables often taste a whole lot better than their non-organic counterparts.

Still stuck for a girl’s name? Try “Ambrosia”.  It was said to be the food of the gods – but perhaps it’s a little too fattening!

If you’d like to know more about Bellamy’s Organic baby formula, cereals and our other products for older children click on this link. It will take you straight to our on-line store.

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