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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?
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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.
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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.
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.
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.........
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.
A lot of studies lately have been finding links between the Father's healthiness and birth defects. Everybody knows that as the age of a mother increases, the risks of potential problems also increases. But now we find that old dads are as bad as, or maybe even worse than, old moms. I can easily see a future where potential dads are given exactly the same nutritional, lifestyle, and age advice as the women. Maybe they will even put us on neonatal vitamins.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
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.
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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?