A high-fiber diet is good for maternal and child health

A new Australian study says that eating more fiber-rich foods during pregnancy may be good for maternal and child health, reducing the risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women and improving the development of the fetus' immune system.
researchers at the University of Sydney in Australia and others report in the new issue of the British journal Nature Communications that fiber in food breaks down by bacteria in the gut, producing short-chain fatty acids, including acetic acid, while pregnant women are at greater risk of pre-eclampsia if their levels are lower. Pre-eclampsia refers to the pregnancy after 20 weeks, pregnant women with hypertension, proteinuria and edema and other symptoms, if developed into eclampsia can endanger the lives of mothers and children.
pregnant women with pre-eclampsia, it is not conducive to fetal immune system development. University of Sydney professor Ralph Nanan said researchers used ultrasound to measure the development of the fetus' thymus in the middle and late stages of pregnancy. The thymus is located near the heart and is responsible for producing T-cells, immune cells, which increase the risk of allergies, diabetes and other diseases if the body lacks them.
found that pregnant women with pre-eclampsia had much smaller thymus than those in healthy pregnant women, and that the number of T-cells in the body was lower than normal four years after the birth of the child.
nan suggested that women should try to eat as many vegetables and other fiber-rich foods during pregnancy, "including vegetables, fruits, nuts and other natural foods, do not eat too many processed foods, Chinese food is actually good." (Source: Xinhua News Agency)
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