birth defects and white bread

[VALEWIS]

"Pregnant women who eat sugary or highly processed foods such as white bread and breakfast cereal could double the risk of having malformed babies, US researchers say."

Article in Sydney Morning Herald:
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/23/1069522479606.html

Val

[Grimalkin]

Now THAT is truly frightening.

The evidence suggests foods with a high glycaemic index (GI) - those that cause blood sugar to surge, triggering the release of insulin in the body - may be linked to the risk of neural tube defects. <snip>

"The advice for pregnant women is still clearly to eat a variety of foods from the food groups and pay particular attention to fruits and vegetables."

This advice seems a little contradictory as most fruits are high GI.

[Sinbad]

CORNFLAKE LINK TO BIRTH DEFECTS

Women planning to get pregnant increase the risk of having a baby with spina bifida by bingeing on cornflakes or white bread, it was claimed yesterday. A diet high in sugar and carbohydrates around the time of conception can double the chances of having a baby with a deformed spine or skull, according to a Californian study.

[adkpam]

Wow, this explains why the neural tube defect rate has been going up (though this is controversial...)