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You Are What Your Dad Ate
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."
which is found in green leafy vegetables, cereal, fruit and meat.
So, in pretty much EVERYTHING then?
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Everything but Necco Wafers (so yeah, pretty much everything).
Likes long walks on the beach, romantic comedies, lots of kale.
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
Obvious response- his father didn't consume enough B9.
A witty saying proves you are wittier than the next guy.
Eat spinach before attempting to impregnate mice.
alternatively...
Popeye was right.
Nope, he always drank plenty of beer.
The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
I am my mother?
I wouldn't panic.
If your dad was a hobo or only ate bratwurst, I might worry, but otherwise you're getting in a panic for no reason.
Diet for males is also code in health study for marital status and stability. Both of which highly affect birth outcomes.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
Well, most pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant are recommended to take folic acid daily; so the risk must be present even for the typical diet. I, for one, had never heard of a link between sperm quality (which is the root cause of the birth defects) and B9 deficiency. In fact, it's relatively rare that the father comes into picture at all when looking at birth defects so even if the deficiency hardly ever happened it would still be interesting news IMO.
Given the average North American diet, that doesn't sound like a good thing. ;-)
that's okay, this is slashdot, most of us aren't getting laid, so we don't have to worry about our cheetos/cherry coke sperm hitting anything but the keyboard...
Be seeing you...
It's even in beer.
No wonder my daughter turned out to be a genius. Guess I've got nothing to worry about.
The more likely reason is she isn't really your daughter.
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.
So, in pretty much EVERYTHING then?
Yes, but the levels of B9 may be benign.
I deny that I have not avoided attaining the opposite of that which I do not want.
I did say "average", thereby excluding most of us here.
And, "eww" to that mental image.
On the bright side, apparently masturbation has many health benefits. ;-)
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
But when foods are highly processes, then those vitamins are greatly degraded or lost period.
With so many people eating highly processed, fast food for so many meals, it is easy to see why even educated, non-poor folks in the US have such health problems, are obese and often have accompanying vitamin/mineral deficiencies.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
In Europe obstetricians advise women to start taking folic acid (AKA vitamin B9) at least two months before trying to get pregnant. Isn't the same advice given in America?
Well I don't know about you guys, but in America the father is typically a male.
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.
The brief is somewhat misleading. It's only found in large amounts in the liver. Most meat has little. Beans and leafy greens are the best sources, but with fortification it's probably not much of a concern for any American.
Yeah, but you're not going to get laid looking *that* yellow.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
I'd like to know if they controlled for the MOTHER's folate level. Afterall, if the mom and dad live together and eat a similar diet, and HE's deficient, it stands to reason that the mom is probably deficient also. None of TFA's seem to talk about it.
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
I already told my wife that if she wants kids she will have to folate me.
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?
If they're talking about birth defects in general, I believe the rate is something like 3% in the USA, so a 30% kick on that would increase the risk to 3.9%.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
The problem is that people simply don't think about the fathers input. Sperm health is very dependent on diet. We have known this for at least centuries, and have come up with diets to improve the health long before we could see the things in a microscope.
The difference is obviously that the man's diet plays very little role in the health of the baby after conception.
The same can be said to some degree with diets in general. Eating right leads to better health. Eating crap leads to illness, obesity, etc... Seems like somehow in the last few decades people forgot about how important eating right is and how much your daily health can be impacted by your diet.
If they're talking about birth defects in general, I believe the rate is something like 3% in the USA, so a 30% kick on that would increase the risk to 3.9%.
Good! That's good information. So, the next question might be, are we talking about a 30% increase in all kinds of birth defects, or a 30% increase in only certain kinds of defects? If the types of defects in question are themselves rare *for defects*, we still may be talking about a vanishingly small number.
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
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.