Look, we all know we are meant to eat as healthy as can be when we are growing a human, but sometimes those cravings just get the better of us, no?
Numerous studies have touted the importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy – for both mama and baby, we know that. But now there’s yet another reason to make sure you’re eating a diet that’s not high in fats and sugar when you expecting as a new study has just linked a poor prenatal diet to ADHD in kids.
Yikes.
The study out of Bristol University and Kings College London found that expectant mothers who ate a high-fat high-sugar diet were more likely to have kids with “conduct disorders.” This includes things such as ADHD, hyperactivity and other behavioral issues such as lying, fighting and cheating.
As part of the study, 83 kids with “persistent” behavioral problems from an early age and 81 kids without behavioral issues were studied. They analyzed the prenatal diets of the kids with problems and the children’s DNA. And what the researchers discovered, was that the kids with behavioral difficulties came from mother’s who ate more unhealthy and processed foods during pregnancy.
As for how a poor prenatal diet leads to these issues, the researchers proved that an unhealthy diet actually causes the expression of a particular gene, IGF2. This gene is responsible both for brain development and metabolism of food, and the more this gene is expressed, the more researchers “predicted higher ADHD symptoms” in kids between the ages of 7 and 13.
Meaning basically that eating tons of junk food during pregnancy can literally impact your future child’s DNA.
Dr. Edward Barker, an ADHD expert and lead researcher, says this study “highlights the critical importance of a healthy diet during pregnancy. Promoting a healthy prenatal diet may ultimately lower ADHD symptoms and conduct problems in children.”
