Food Choice During Pregnancy Shapes Lifelong Taste Preferences of Baby
Keith sent this to me. It’d be interesting to try it out and offer your kid something one of the food cravings you indulged in while pregnant. It could explain why so many kids naturally love ice-cream 
There’s also some research out there that shows that how healthy the dad is when he does his part to create the baby, has a big effect on the health of the child. So, healthy living everyone!
Food Choice During Pregnancy Shapes Lifelong Taste Preferences of Baby
NaturalNews, July 17, 2008
Children develop a taste for the foods that their mothers eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding, highlighting the importance of pregnant and nursing women’s dietary choices, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics.
“It’s a beautiful system,” lead researcher Julie Mennella said. “Flavors from the mother’s diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother’s milk. So, a baby learns to like a food’s taste when the mother eats that food on a regular basis.”
The study shows how important it is that pregnant and nursing women eat lots of fruits and vegetables, Mennella said.
“Vegetable and fruit consumption is linked to lower risks of obesity and certain cancers,” she said. “The best predictor of how much fruits and vegetables children eat is whether they like the tastes of these foods. If we can get babies to learn to like these tastes, we can get them off to an early start of healthy eating.”
The researchers noted that even children who have not had this head start will still acquire a taste for vegetables if exposed to them regularly.
Parents simply need to avoid getting discouraged when children reject the foods or demonstrate distaste the first few times.
I ate tuna every other day with all my pregnancies, & tuna is one of my kids’ favorite food. I also ate spicy food a lot while pregnant & was able to continue doing so while nursing without it affecting my babies.
July 21st, 2008 at 3:05 pmI totally believe that. I ate a lot of tuna, salmon and sardines while pregnant and nursing and Kyle’s always been a seafood lover. Anything that comes out the ocean is game for him, heh. On the other hand, I didn’t eat very much red meat at all and Kyle’s never really liked steak or burgers.
I also believe that the foods you introduce your baby to first has a big part in developing their tastes. From the get go I fed Kyle veggies long before I introduced him to fruit, so now he has no problem eating his vegetables.
Another example, Clara (of Jason) loves red meat and baby Julie is one carnivorous baby if I ever saw one, heh.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:15 pm