Maternal diet weights during pregnancy Superprocessed foods during pregnancy may increase children’s risk of autism and ADHD, according to a study protocol published in the World Journal of Experimental Medicine.
This study outlines how food additives and preservatives disrupt genetic mechanisms that prevent the accumulation of toxic metals.
Dr Renee Dufault of the Institute for Food Ingredients and Health has developed a “nutritional epigenetic” model that links prenatal diet to neurodevelopmental diseases. Her protocol recommends testing whether dietary changes during pregnancy can lower lead and mercury levels while promoting protective nutrition.
Hidden heavy metal problem
Super processed foods contain allowable levels of heavy metals in additives and preservatives. High fructose corn syrup carries mercury residues, while food dyes such as tarazin and sunset yellow contain arsenic, lead and mercury within the limits approved by the FDA.
These metals accumulate when the body’s natural detoxification system fails. The metallothionein gene produces proteins that usually remove heavy metals from the blood. But the system depends on enough zinc levels, and superprocessed foods actually run out of zinc.
In a recent clinical trial, the researchers found that “students who consumed HFC showed a significant decrease in serum Zn concentrations,” college students drank high-fructose corn syrup drinks for two weeks.
Key Risk Factors
The study identified several information about the patterns:
- Western diet components associated with autism and ADHD include deep fried foods, processed meat, margarine and baked goods
- Children with autism and ADHD usually show zinc deficiency, elevated blood mercury or lead
- Selenium deficiency during pregnancy increases the risk of autism and ADHD in offspring
- The severity of behavioral symptoms is directly related to heavy metal blood levels
Evidence from multiple studies
A prospective study of 508 mother-son pairs found a significant association between Western dietary patterns and neurodevelopmental disorders during pregnancy. Even considering factors such as maternal weight, smoking and birth complications, the link remains firm.
A 2021 Congressional report shows that baby foods contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, which may exacerbate autism and ADHD development.
Previous studies have shown that blood mercury and glucose levels in American University students who reduced their intake of superprocessed foods through nutrition education compared to controls.
Genetic connection
The study explains how poverty’s prenatal nutrition is through lasting changes in “epid inheritance” – a modification of genetic behavior from mother to child. Heavy metals can produce oxidative stress, which changes DNA methylation patterns and may program neurodevelopmental problems in the next generation.
An encouraging finding: these changes seem reversible. Among 30 children with autism, a supplementary study with zinc supplementation showed that after just three months, metallothionein gene expression increased and cognitive performance improved.
Test the model
Dufault’s protocol proposes comparing pregnant women who receive intensive nutrition education for pregnant women who focus on avoiding the use of superprocessed foods with the following standard pregnancy guidelines. The researchers will measure changes in maternal diet, blood metal levels, and protective nutrition before and after birth.
The method is based on a successful pilot study, and parents of children with autism or ADHD significantly reduce super-severe food consumption after completing a six-week nutrition workshop.
As autism affects 1 of 36 U.S. children, and ADHD is diagnosed in 11.4% of adolescents, the potential public health impacts may have a huge impact. The annual special education cost for children with autism ranges from $6,838 to $23,860 per child, excluding related medical expenses.
Although more research is needed to establish causality, the protocol provides a framework for testing whether simple dietary changes during pregnancy may help prevent next-generation neurodevelopmental disorders.
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