So much for the recommendation to increase PUFA intake during pregnancy, which is a mantra virtually all OBGYN and pediatricians keep repeating to expectant mothers. It’s good for the baby’s brain, they said. Well, not only is it not good for the baby’s brain, but the study below shows that PUFA also negatively affects motor skills, and indices of liver and cardiovascular health. Thus, even pregnant women who are health-conscious and suspicious of taking pharma drugs during pregnancy are likely to still harm their child given the ubiquity of PUFA in the Western food supply, based on nothing but a single, never-replicated study from the 1930s that purportedly established the dogma that PUFA are “essential” to life.
https://doi.org/10.2174/0929867331666230706161144
“…Results: An elevated intake of n-6 PUFA, specifically LA, during pregnancy [negatively] influences children’s motor, cognitive, and verbal development during infancy and early childhood. Similarly, they could harm the placenta and the development of other fetal organs such as the fat tissue, liver, and cardiovascular system. Conclusion: Maternal diet, specifically LA intake, could have significant repercussions on fetal development and long-term consequences in the offspring, including the possibility of future metabolic and mental diseases. It would be necessary to focus on the prevention of these alterations through timely dietary interventions in the target population.”
