LC Diets--Birth Defects

[fluffybear]

Low-carb diets lead to birth defects?

Low levels of folate in women may be due to lack of bread, officials say
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:54 p.m. ET Jan 4, 2007

ATLANTA - Blood levels of folate in young women are dropping, a disturbing development that could lead to increased birth defects and may be due to low-carb diets or the popularity of unfortified whole-grain breads.

Government health officials could only speculate on the reasons but called the backslide in this important B vitamin disturbing.

It's not clear how the decline in folate levels has affected newborns, but preliminary data suggest the dramatic declines in neural tube defects seen in the late 1990s may have leveled off by 2004, said officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This is a cause of substantial concern," said Dr. Nancy Green, medical director for the March of Dimes, which campaigns for birth defects prevention.

Folate is a naturally occurring B vitamin. An artificial version, which is more easily metabolized by the body, is folic acid.

Years ago, scientists concluded that folate deficiencies contributed to the occurrence of serious birth defects of the spine and brain, known as neural tube defects.

So the government has long urged women to eat cereals and breads fortified with folic acid to help prevent birth defects. By the late 1990s, the fortification campaigns were succeeding: Folate levels increased, and neural tube defects dropped by as many as 1,000 a year.

But a CDC study released Thursday found an 8 percent to 16 percent decline in folate levels in U.S. women of childbearing age, according to large blood-drawing surveys done between 1999 and 2004.

First decline since health campaigns began
It was the first time such a decline has been seen since the start of government health campaigns urging women to make sure they get enough folic acid.

The decline was most pronounced in white women, although black women continue to be the racial group with the least folate in their blood, health officials said.

The study was based on a regular national survey that involves not only interviews but physical examinations and blood tests. It measured the blood of about 4,500 women, ages 15 to 44, between 1999 and 2004.



It's being published this week in a CDC publication, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

It's not clear why blood folate levels dropped in this decade, but there are several possible explanations, experts said.

Increasing obesity rates among young women may be a factor. Research has found obese people metabolize folate differently than thinner folk, and some doctors believe heavier women need more folic acid to prevent neural tube defects, Green said.

The Atkins affect
Diet trends may have been be another factor, said Dr. Joseph Mulinare, a CDC epidemiologist who was the study's lead author.

He noted that in 1998, the Food and Drug Administration began requiring that folic acid be added to breads, cereals and other products that use enriched flour. Whole-grain breads were not under that mandate because they already contain some folate.

Low-carb diets increased in popularity during the early 2000s. Women who avoided flour and bread products because of their carbohydrates may have also taken in less folic acid, Mulinare said.

Vitamins and supplements are the best way to get the recommended daily dose of 400 micrograms of folic acid. But only a third of women of child-bearing age take a folic acid-containing supplement every day, he said.

Eating certain foods also helps, especially breads, cereals and other products containing enriched flour.

While whole-grain breads contain natural folate, it's a smaller amount than the folic acid in enriched breads. So the popularity of whole-grain breads "may be a factor" in the drop in folate levels, Mulinare said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16474800/

[potatofree]

Ohferpitysakes. So fortified BREAD is the only way to get enough folate? :lol:

[huggs2ewe]

hmmm the anti Atkins people will try and find lots of reasons to blame Atkins. Folate is important and supplements are currently strongly recommeded for all mothers to be... has nothing to do with lcarb! They just know it prevents spinal bifida.

[LC FP]

Most people eating LC get a ton of folate. BTW the word folate comes from foliage, "green leaves".

Dietary Sources

Rich sources of folic acid include spinach, dark leafy greens, asparagus, turnip, beet and mustard greens, Brussels sprouts, lima beans, soybeans, beef liver, brewer's yeast, root vegetables, whole grains, wheat germ, bulgur wheat, kidney beans, white beans, lima beans, mung beans oysters, salmon, orange juice, avocado, and milk. In March of 1996, the FDA authorized the addition of folic acid to all enriched grain products and made manufacturers comply to this rule by January of 1998.

[ubizmo]

Most people eating LC get a ton of folate. BTW the word folate comes from foliage, "green leaves".

Well, although leafy greens are a good natural source, you still have to eat large amounts to get near the recommended 400 mcg. A cup of raw spinach (30g) contains only 58 mcg of folate, so you'd need 7-8 cups of the stuff to get there, and who eats that much raw spinach? A cup of cooked spinach has 283 mcg, which is much better, but that's still a lot of spinach for anyone but Popeye.

I agree with the premise that we can and should get folate from greens and veggies, and although lowcarbers are likely to eat more greens and veggies than others, there is still a good chance of getting low amounts of folate. Since folate also keeps homocysteine levels down, supplementing seems like a good idea. Supermarkets in the US now have inexpensive "Folic Plus" supplements, with B6 and B12 as additional anti-homocysteine factors.

I have the same feeling about vitamin A, which we are very unlikely to get enough of unless we eat liver regularly. Well, I just don't like liver and rather than choke the stuff down I swig some flavored cod liver oil and get it that way. If my diet were truly natural I wouldn't need these things, but realistically (in my case, anyway) they're a good idea.

[ditzy]

Last time I checked, most multivitamins had 400 mcg of folate, which is what is recommended for pre-pregnancy.

[tripletmom]

You know.......... every woman who is trying to conceive is told by her OB/GYN to start taking pre-natal vitamins before conception, AS WELL AS taking Folic Acid.

How can they possibly say that it's because there's a drop in eating fortified bread?? Honestly, one must wonder what these dunderheads are thinking!!

[waywardsis]

So researchers are speculating, but the take-home message is "Eat bread or your baby will suffer!"

Unbelievable. In the celiac world, doctors urge mothers of babies with neural tube defects (like my mother) to get tested for celiac/gluten intolerance, bc if they have it and are eating BREAD for instance they will not be absorbing folate and other vitamins, regardless of how many pills they pop or spinach/liver etc they eat.

Articles like this really make me angry. It's as if it was written deliberately to frighten people. I am not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch, but I read this and wonder who had a financial interest in getting this published? I mean seriously, before Wonder et al came along and saved our lives by enriching flour, how many children with neural tube defects were being born? How many hunter-gather tribes have instances of spina bifida? Where are the highest instances of neural tube defects in babies being reported? Why do black women, according to the article, have the lowest folate levels (black women? From where? Of what background?) while white women have the highest? When did this even become an issue?

Poorly written piece that will be enough for those who don't do their own research to decide that life without bread is actually dangerous.

[serrelind]

How did women get enough folate in the pre-fortified bread era?

[fluffybear]

How did women get enough folate in the pre-fortified bread era?

Well apparently they were NOT getting enough folate as birth defects were even more prevalent than they are now.

[KvonM]

Ohferpitysakes. So fortified BREAD is the only way to get enough folate? :lol:

my sentiments exactly... and i agree with tripletmom too about the prenatal vitamins. nice to see how the article so conveniently ignored those. apparently the attitude here is "it's not good for you unless the government puts it there", or maybe "you're not getting enough if the government doesn't shove it down your throat."

[Nancy LC]

Well, a lot of women get pregnant without planning for it I'd imagine. If they're not taking vitamins regularly that could be an issue for anyone not getting enough folate.

[waywardsis]

Well apparently they were NOT getting enough folate as birth defects were even more prevalent than they are now.

When and where? I am genuinely curious.

If this is a problem, maybe we need to start pushing liver consumption more. According to the USDA Nutrient Database:

Chicken, turkey, duck & goose liver = 738mcg folate/100g
Pork liver = 212mcg folate/100g
Lamb liver = 230mcg folate/100g
Veal liver = 642mcg folate/100g
Beef liver = 248mcg folate/100g

I wonder if there is a correlation between increased NTD rates and decreased organ meat consumption+increased processed food consumption (meaning, as we moved away from traditional foods)? Just thinking of Weston Price's work here - I don't recall him noticing any birth defects in the people he studied that were eating their traditional diet, which certainly did not include prenatal vitamins or enriched Wonder Bread (can't recall how many included organ meat either!).

I find this interesting bc my mum had 2 babies with NTD's; my brother, who died shortly after birth as a result of anencephaly, and my sister, who has spina bifida occulta. Wonder if she took prenatals - I'm going to ask her. This was in the mid-late 70's.

[NewRuth]

Well, although leafy greens are a good natural source, you still have to eat large amounts to get near the recommended 400 mcg. A cup of raw spinach (30g) contains only 58 mcg of folate, so you'd need 7-8 cups of the stuff to get there, and who eats that much raw spinach? A cup of cooked spinach has 283 mcg, which is much better, but that's still a lot of spinach for anyone but Popeye.
Yeah, and a slice of fortified white bread contains 38 mcg of folate, so you'd need 11 slices of that!
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5553.html

Then there are eggs with 114 mcg per cup, or 24 mcg per large egg.

http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts-B00001-01c201n.html

...and what about broccoli? 50 mcg per 1 cup florets

...and brussels sprouts? 46 mcg per 1/2 cup cooked

Sorry, not buying, "You need grains."

[fluffybear]

When and where? I am genuinely curious.

If this is a problem, maybe we need to start pushing liver consumption more. According to the USDA Nutrient Database:

Chicken, turkey, duck & goose liver = 738mcg folate/100g
Pork liver = 212mcg folate/100g
Lamb liver = 230mcg folate/100g
Veal liver = 642mcg folate/100g
Beef liver = 248mcg folate/100g

I wonder if there is a correlation between increased NTD rates and decreased organ meat consumption+increased processed food consumption (meaning, as we moved away from traditional foods)?

That is a VERY GOOD observation on your part. I am 60 years old and was raised mainly by my grandmother. We ate a LOT of organ meat in my home--mainly things like brains and scrambled eggs, chicken livers, calves's liver and cow tongue. That sort of stuff is distasteful to a lot of people today, but we sure got our vitamins!

[huggs2ewe]

The most difficult part is this story will go on and on and we will be looked upon as eating dangerously, that we will make ourselves sick if we eat this way. I was always defending this WOE now I just say... "it works for me".

sources of studies have to always be looked at. We thought my son may have had Asperger's an Autistic spectrum disorder. Anyway my hsb found this artice that indicated a correlation between to much TV at an early age and Autism. It was published in a medical journal but when I went to look at it the scientist were economist with no medical background. They just look at numbers. Anyway just another example that we have to really look at who/ where and why the study was being done

[ubizmo]

If this is a problem, maybe we need to start pushing liver consumption more. According to the USDA Nutrient Database:

Chicken, turkey, duck & goose liver = 738mcg folate/100g
Pork liver = 212mcg folate/100g
Lamb liver = 230mcg folate/100g
Veal liver = 642mcg folate/100g
Beef liver = 248mcg folate/100g


There is little doubt in my mind that the current unpopularity of liver and other organ meats in the US is an unhealthy trend. Unfortunately, these meats have a strong taste that, if not acquired when young, is hard to acquire later in life. I make a point of trying new foods, and re-trying old foods that I think I don't like. So every so often I try some form of liver, whether it's in pate, or fried, or whatever. I just can't get used to the stuff. But I am certain that hunter-gatherer people didn't/don't waste any of it. Liver is the natural "multivitamin". Desiccated liver is an option, but I'm not thrilled about the iron in it.

[SkySamChew]

my husband makes fried chicken livers, no flour, just some oil in a pan. Put some hot sauce and it isnt horrible. If people are truely worried about not getting nough folate, why not try it? I hate gizzards BUT im thinking im going to try incorporating it into my WOE.. i mean its healthy, why not give it a shot?

[potatofree]

They can and should get the word out to women that all women of child-bearing age need to take a supplement, I guess. Not that I would have listened... if I couldn't remember to take a pill every day to avoid getting pregnant in the first place, I doubt my mind was on supplements in case I DID get pregnant... :lol:

I suppose that was part of the reasoning behind supplementing breads and pushing orange juice, but couldn't they pick a better food to fortify if they MUST? When my diet was really deficient in nutrients, I sure could have used a fortified potato chip or doughnut, since that was what I was eating the most of! ;)

Too soon old, too late smart.

[Nancy LC]

Hmmm... what could they enrich? It'd have to be splenda or diet soda for me, most everything else is single ingredient, unprocessed food.

[serrelind]

I'm glad liver is so rich in nutrients. I LOVE liver! I eat 5-10 chicken livers at least once a week.

[ysabella]

Sorry, not buying, "You need grains."

And "processed fortified grains" at that! :thdown:

I wasn't taking actual prenatal vitamins when I got pregnant, but I was taking two Flintstones vitamins per day, and that provides enough.

Also, while I don't like liver, I do eat Joe's Special from time to time, which has eggs, beef, and spinach. So that's probably helpful.

[probiotic]

The most difficult part is this story will go on and on and we will be looked upon as eating dangerously, that we will make ourselves sick if we eat this way. I was always defending this WOE now I just say... "it works for me".


Very true... this seems to be the standard pattern of anti-LCers: plant a phony claim and let it bounce around for years, just as has been and is the case for other false claims such as the danger to kidneys, osteoporosis, etc.. The other intersting thing is how an anti-LC slant is put into an article's title even when, as in this case, there is really no basis for it (what has eating less fortified bread got to do with the price of tea in China basically, as far as LC goes?)

Even though all those stupid claims have been proven completely false, they persist in the tiny minds of many moronic RD's and MD's who make the rounds on the media, and resonate with the average LC-sceptic. Oh well.

[waywardsis]

Liver is hard to get used to. My mum loves it, so cooked it when I was little...and I would eat anything ;) Chicken livers are much nicer, IMO. Liver is the one meat where I really notice a difference btwn organic/non-organic, taste-wise. Beef liver from the regular market is so strong, but from my organic butcher it's very mild and delicate. And about the only thing there I can afford.

I've read that some people mix liver in with ground beef in meatloaves and stuff...never tried it but it's a possibility? Or just smother it with bacon! Everything's better with bacon.

Fluffy, I would love to try brains and scrambled eggs!

[potatofree]

I comfort myself with the knowledge that organ meats are the only meats with carbs. :lol:

[Lisa N]

There is little doubt in my mind that the current unpopularity of liver and other organ meats in the US is an unhealthy trend. Unfortunately, these meats have a strong taste that, if not acquired when young, is hard to acquire later in life

I think that depends a lot on how they are prepared. I absolutely hated liver as a child and preferred to go to be hungry rather than eat it and I still won't just fry up some liver and eat it; I like the smell of it cooking but I just can't get it past my tastebuds. :p But....soak some chicken livers in milk for about an hour and then saute' them with onions, garlic, herbs and spices and then turn them into a yummy pate' and I could eat that for breakfast every day without complaint. Same thing goes for liverwurst or braunschweiger. :yum:

[acadkate]

We ate a lot of beef liver and beet greens as kids. Mom would fry up the slabs and my brothers would smother it in Miracle Whip. It made me gag. When I got older I would slice up semi-frozen beef liver in strips for stir fry and add onions and I liked it. When I was pregnant with my youngest son I could not handle the smell, and unforunately still can't, but do enjoy eating it.

[ProfGumby]

Here we go...both barrels!

That article IMHO is the biggest load of bull poop I have ever read!

There are fudd articles, then there is this pile of garbage! Fortified bread is the answer???? Who wrote the article, a vegan nutritionalist from Wonder Bread???

Jeez.......

So, they have to up the anti and tell LCers that they are going to harm their babies now? How desperate and how despicable!