Eating habits last a lifetime - make them good ones!

Well fancy that! A junk food diet during pregnancy has been shown to permanently derange the child’s response to foods that are high in fat and sugar. Scientists say that such a diet adversely affects the developing pathways in the infant brain. A junk food diet causes enhanced expression of a gene encoding for production of a key opioid, leading to increased tolerance for the opioid. In a nutshell, this means that the babies of mothers eating a junk food diet will always need to eat more junk food to get the same “feel good” response, leading to a lifetime consuming more high-fat and high-sugar foods. That’s the bad news...

Conversely, pregnant mums have the ability to permanently and positively shape their child’s taste buds - it all depends on mums consuming the healthiest diet possible. Whole, fresh, organically grown, all the colours of the rainbow. But when you get it right, you can take real delight in seeing your children gobble up salads and vegetables, in watching them exhibit very sophisticated tastes when all the kids around are stuck on white bread and vegemite (or much worse). Just be prepared when dining out, to see kids’ menus scornfully cast aside.

Taste buds that are set on the right course during your pregnancy can lead to a lifelong passion for real, live, nourishing foodstuffs. From before your child's conception to that child's involvement in preparing great meals for the whole family -  all the details in Healthy Parents Healthy Baby and Healthy Parents Healthy Toddler.