Hypertension (or high blood pressure) has become more rampant now due to sedentary lifestyle, improper diet and worsening environment conditions. Even more worrying is the belief that children are at a great risk if their mothers have a high BP condition called preeclampsia during pregnancy. Providing a prospective solution, a recent study by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that the risk can be reduced or even staved off if mothers have sufficient amounts of vitamin D nutrient.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a number of health issues including cardiovascular diseases, preeclampsia, weak bones and low immunity. In fact, some studies have also associated vitamin D deficiency with vulnerability to Coronavirus.
Maternal preeclampsia may be one of the early risk factors for childhood and adolescence elevated blood pressure (BP). Vitamin D sufficiency may also aid fetal development.
This prospective cohort study looked at 754 mother-child pairs with 6669 blood pressure observations from the Boston Birth Cohort, who were enrolled from December 1998 to June 2009. Data was studied from October 2019 to March 2020.
"In this study, we aimed to assess the associations between maternal preeclampsia and offspring SBP across developmental stages (early childhood [ages 3-5 years], middle childhood [ages 6-12 years], and adolescence [ages 13-18 years]) and to examine whether this association differs by cord blood vitamin D level," said co-author Mingyu Zhang.
The study results hinted that maternal preeclampsia was associated with higher offspring systolic blood pressure from early childhood to adolescence. This association, however, was attenuated among children with higher cord blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. The findings were published in the journal JAMA Network Open.
(Also Read: What To Eat When You Are Pregnant? | Foods, Nutrition For A Healthy Pregnancy)
Vitamin D-rich pregnancy diet may aid fetal development and prevent high BP.
Dr. Rupali Dutta, consultant nutritionist with NDTV Food suggests some foods that are good to consume during pregnancy and are rich in vitamin D too.
Vitamin D-Rich Foods For Pregnancy Diet:
1. Milk Products
Cottage cheese (paneer), cow milk, cheese, yogurt, chaas, lassi - all are good sources of vitamin D plus calcium and proteins.
2. Mushrooms
Mushroom is another food that offers ample amount of vitamin D and other essential nutrients for healthy pregnancy.
3. Fish
Fatty fish like salmon has healthy Omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin D, which may play a role in keeping off-springs healthy.
4. Eggs
Eggs along with egg yolks are a good source of vitamin D. Include them in your daily breakfast diet.
5. Orange Juice
Stay hydrated and load up on vitamin D and vitamin C during pregnancy.