Pregnancy nutrition and fetal development

Pregnancy Nutrition and fetal development into childhood development:

What is nutrition?  It’s the cumulative amount of vitamins and nutrients that the cells in your body need to keep your body properly functioning. People really lose site of the purpose of eating and forget that at its very core everything you eat is used to keep your body alive. When you’re pregnant everything you eat feeds the cells of the fetus as it develops. At its simplest explanation, feeding cells is essentially a chemical reaction.  

Many studies have linked artificial hormones and chemicals in foods to a variety of diseases in the human body. A disease at its very core is a chemical reaction that causes symptoms so naturally one would think eating these hormones and chemicals during pregnancy would cause developmental issues with the fetus    It is finally being scientifically proven that what many believe are genetic disorders are actually the affects that the mothers nutrition has on the development of the fetus during pregnancy.  

Many studies on autism have only tried to dispel or prove genetic links or after birth links for the cause of autism.  In a first ever study of its kind the University of Florida, has linked autism to a food preservative. 

“The Study

The study describes how elevated levels of the preservative, propionic acid (PPA)–used to extend shelf life and reduce mold in packaged foods, breads and cheeses—can adversely affect the development and differentiation of neurons in fetal brains in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

In the current study, Saleh Naser, PhD and her team at UCF found that when neural stem cells were exposed to high levels of PPA, the neurons incurred multiple changes resulting in cellular damage and inflammation. One of the major effects of PPA they noted was the overproduction of glial cells , the protective outer cells making up the sheath covering neurons, with a corresponding reduction in the number of neurons themselves. An excess of glial cells may disrupt the connectivity between the neurons and induce inflammation, a common finding in the brains of children with ASD.

While prior studies have suggested the role of genetic factors and environmental influence in ASD, this study, according to the authors, is the first to note a molecular link from elevated levels of PPA, overproduction of glial cells, disruption of neural connections and autism.” -  

Robert Glatter, MD

The study goes on to link the gut

microbiome found in these patients fecal matter to intestinal issues common with Autism Patients which further links that the possible core of the development of brain diseases is simply by products of poor nutrition and the manipulation of our foods.