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You Are What Your Dad Ate

Posted by timothy on from the manner-of-speaking dept.

Freshly Exhumed writes "What a father eats before his child is conceived may influence the chance a baby will be born with a birth defect, a new study suggests. Much of the focus on how diet relates to birth has been done on moms. A father's diet before conception plays a crucial role in the health of his offspring, researchers in Canada suggest. Sarah Kimmins, a researcher at McGill University in Montreal, said the study focused on vitamin B9, also known as folate, which is found in green leafy vegetables, cereal, fruit and meat. The researchers found that the mouse offspring of folate-deficient fathers had a 30 percent increased risk of birth defects, compared to those offspring who had received a sufficient amount of folate."

7 of 130 comments (clear)

  1. Lesson learned here? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Eat spinach before attempting to impregnate mice.

    alternatively...

    Popeye was right.

  2. Call me paranoid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I may be totally off base, but I worked extra hard to eat right before my wife and I had our son. For some reason, I thought about the "you are what you eat" stuff, and I figured maybe a shitty diet could make my sperm crappy, for lack of a better word. He's pretty healthy and robust, so either I was on to something and/or I'm fortunate.

    1. Re:Call me paranoid by MozeeToby · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Most kids are healthy and happy. With a data sample of one it's hardly surprising that things turned out well. I can tell you this right now, it's much more important to your child's future that you cared than that it is that you changed your diet.

  3. Pre-natal vitamins? by brunes69 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One of the primary ingredients in pre-natal vitamins is folate, because it is so important for the fetus. I wonder if this research indicates that fathers trying to conceive should also take pre-natal vitamins.

  4. Re: How does one end up with a B9 deficiency, anyw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    You say crisis, I say regulation to sustainable numbers.

  5. Re:How does one end up with a B9 deficiency, anywa by Garridan · · Score: 3, Insightful

    In fact, it's relatively rare that the father's role in birth defects is even considered by scientists...

    FTFY. A lack of knowledge in this area is hardly surprising. A woman produces her eggs during puberty. A man produces his sperm daily. Ergo, day-to-day differences in a man's habits are likely to have a significant impact on his offspring.

    We know that heavy drinking during early pregnancy is bad... but what about the man's drinking before conception? What about other drugs?

  6. Re:How does one end up with a B9 deficiency, anywa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Go back to health class, son. Or... I guess... if your wife is dumb enough to fall for that... keep on keeping on. The world could do without your children.

    It was clearly a joke, and I found it quite funny. If that went over your head, then it is YOU who should not be reproducing.