Friday, April 04, 2008
Women's Health
By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, December 8, 2006, abstracted from "Vitamin A and B-carotene supply of women with gemini or short birth intervals" printed online November 14, 2006 in the European Journal of Nutrition.
Efforts at educating pregnant women about the importance of maternal nutrition has led to increased awareness of the role of folic acid in helping decrease neural tube defects. However, most women are still
unaware of the importance of fish oil and calcium with vitamin D during pregnancy.
Research has also found that vitamin C, vitamin E, B-vitamins, and calcium intake all help ensure a healthy pregnancy. But a new study has found that nearly 1 in 3 women may be unknowingly deficient in vitamin A, which is vital for lung development in the fetus.
In the study, researchers evaluated 29 volunteers between 21 and 36 years of age, 48 hours after delivery. Samples of maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and maternal colostrum were taken and the mothers also completed a food frequency questionnaire. The researchers found that nearly 28% of the women had vitamin A blood levels below 1.4micromoles per liter. Less than 66% of the women consumed the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A, which is currently 4,300 IU for lactating women.
For the researchers, "Despite the fact that vitamin A and beta-carotene rich food is generally available, risk groups for low vitamin A supply exist in the western world."
Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or visiting his web site www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com.