Amniotic fluid is the 1st place where your baby starts to sense their environment. They experience a menu of different flavors and smells you introduce them to. Once born and introduced to their first foods, they will seek out those familiar flavors and smells in food!
Did you grow up with a preference for maybe broccoli or spicy foods? Ever wonder why babies born in different cultures are more acceptant to their food culture? Well,
it's because of us, MOMMY. The first way experience food flavors are thru the diet of our mothers in amniotic
fluid and breastmilk. We end up preferring the same.
taste and smell of these foods later in life
Clinical trials led by Julie Menella and further studies done, were able to make a connection between foods consumed by moms during pregnancy and breastfeeding, with the food choices children preferred once introduced to their first foods. One study even got a close look at babies reacting to flavors in the womb.
Pictured below is one baby frowning at bitter flavored vegetable supplement mom consumed and the other baby is smiling at the sweeter flavor carrot supplement.
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So yes!! we originally love the taste of sweets and not so much bitter flavors.
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The great news is that after consistent repeated exposure from mom consuming bitter veggie supplements, babies become more acceptant to the flavor. More studies followed babies that were exposed to veggies early on, and found they still practiced the same healthy habits once older in life.
Pregnant moms that DID NOT consume veggies in the study, well, when their children were born, the babies frowned and rejected the veggie flavors due to unfamiliarity. Children not exposed to healthy foods early on, later in life are more likely to be picky and lack a balanced diet.
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This is the 1st direct evidence that fetuses react
differently to various tastes & smells in the womb
NEGATIVE FOOD CHOICES DURING
PREGNANCY AND BREASTFEEDING IMPACT YOUR BABY
PREGNANCY: Studies have been able to show that poor nutrition, specifically junk food and fatty foods impact our offspring .The study revealed that the mothers that consumed high-fat food during pregnancy had heavier babies that end up preferring fatty foods. Their brain circuitry got altered to have a weakness for fatty foods throughout their adulthood. However, a balanced diet showed a lesser craving for fatty foods in offspring
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BREASTFEEDING: Second hand sugar in breastmilk. We've heard of secondhand smoking, but secondhand sugar is real. A new study, publisehed in the journal Nutrients, finds that the sugar fructose can get into breast milk if a mother consumes too much in her diet. This increases a babies lifetime risk for DIABETES AND OBESITY. The study found that even in tiny amounts, fructose significantly increased fat cells in babies at age 6 months.
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Some common sources of fructose mentioned by the researchers include:
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HIGH-ENERGY DRINKS
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FRAPPUCUNNIOS
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FRUIT COCKTAILS
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SOFT DRINKS
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PROCESSED SWEETS AND DESERTS
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SODAS
