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Item #2
High
Blood Pressure Begins Before Birth
Your
mother’s nutritional habits during pregnancy might make you
predisposed to high blood pressure later in life.
A
new study found that people with primary hypertension, or high blood
pressure that is not caused by another disease, may have fewer
nephrons in their kidneys than people with normal blood pressure.
Nephrons
play a role in eliminating waste and excess fluid from the body, which
in turn helps to regulate blood pressure. The number of nephrons in
the kidneys, typically about 1 million in a normal kidney, is set
during fetal development.
The
study involved the examination of kidneys from 20 middle-aged, white
people who had died in accidents, 10 of whom had had high blood
pressure. Their findings support the theory that having fewer nephrons
makes a person more susceptible to high blood pressure, a finding
which was been supported by both animal and human research in the
past.
Individuals
with high blood pressure may have fewer nephrons because they were
born that way, researchers speculate.
Low
protein intake during pregnancy may affect the number of nephrons in
the fetus and the risk of high blood pressure and other types of
cardiovascular disease later in life, according to researchers.
The
findings point to the importance of prenantal nutrition in determining
the future health of the child. Other recent studies on the topic have
found similar results, for example low birth weight may increase the
baby’s risk of cardiovascular disease during adulthood.
Although
further research is needed, researchers say that improving nutrition
during pregnancy may prevent low nephron number in the fetus, which
may ultimately prevent high blood pressure. NEJ
January
9, 2003;348:101-108
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FACT
The
glycemic index measures a food's effect on blood sugar. Anything under
70 generally means the food does not raise blood sugar much. The
low-glycemic-index diet is promoted as a way to lose weight and ward
off diabetes and heart disease. Source:
Nutrition Today
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Let
your Patients Enjoy low carb chocolates with no sugar and 1gm of
carbohydrate:
Click
Here
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