The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease theory, or DOHaD, was first proposed by David J. Barker, a British researcher, in the 1980s. His study was prompted by the realization that geographically, higher rates of heart disease were found in poorer places in Britain. Rather than dietary fat, smoking, or any other lifestyle cause, the most predictive factor of premature heart disease (before the age of 65) was their weight at birth.
If you do a quick search on Pubmed.org for “developmental origins of disease”, you’ll find references to the fetal origins of cancer, heart disease, allergies, asthma, autoimmune disease, diabetes, obesity, mental illness and degenerative conditions like arthritis, osteoporosis, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
The nutritional environment of a mother’s womb affects her baby’s health not only at birth and during early infancy, but for the rest of his or her life. But, the mother’s nutritional status prior to pregnancy may determine her ability to conceive in the first place. You see evidence of this truth when you look at traditional cultures with sacred fertility foods they feed to mothers-to-be and even fathers-to-be. These include nutrient dense foods like fish eggs, liver, bone marrow, egg yolks and other animal fats. The Masai tribe in Africa, for example, only allowed couples to marry and become pregnant after spending several months drinking milk in the wet season when the grass is lush and the nutrient content of the milk is especially high.
Unfortunately the modern world largely ignores or has forgotten this traditional wisdom. The role of nutrition during pre-conception is rarely mentioned by the media or in mainstream medical settings. And, modern science seems to favor chemicals and medical procedures over the idea of creating health through nutrition.
And, beyond that, for those who understand the importance of nutrition to fertility, it can be confusing to know what constitutes proper nutrition during the pre-conception period. With so much contradictory information, trends, fads, and aggressive marketing, it can be difficult for anyone to know what is correct and whom to trust.
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