Mediterranean diet 'reduces birth defects'

[Celebration]

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article342147.ece

The Mediterranean diet has already been credited with increasing life expectancy levels in southern Europe. Now research has revealed that it may also contribute to the health of the unborn child in the womb.

According to the first comprehensive estimate of the global burden of birth defects, France has the lowest incidence rate in the world, and researchers believe the Mediterranean diet could be the reason.

A high daily intake of leafy vegetables, high in folic acid and a staple of most Mediterranean cooking regimes, ensures that France, Italy and Spain fare significantly better than other nations in avoiding defects such as congenital heart problems and spina bifida. The French rate of 39.7 babies born with birth defects per 1,000 live births is less than half that in the Sudan, which has the highest rate in the world, at 82 per 1,000 live births. The UK ranks ninth in the table, behind Spain and Italy, with 43.8 affected babies per 1,000 live births.

Almost 250,000 babies are born with inherited birth defects each year in Europe, but the toll could be reduced if their mothers ate more fruit and vegetables as in Mediterranean countries, researchers say.

[PSPS]

1. So much for the fake "South Beach Diet"

Thanks to a successful PR campaign by the meat industry, complete with bush-esque fake "experts" and their equally flawed books promoting high-protein diets, people have been slowly killing themselves with a practically "all meat diet."

Of course, this article is from the foreign press. We don't want to upset the bottom line of the bush contributors and cronies by bringing up pesky "facts."

[Straight Shooter]

2. Folic acid supplements have been recommended a long time for prenatal care

Fruits and veggies are better, but then you're getting pesticides in your system. Organic is expensive, but the best route.