Women Warned About Vitamin E
Posted by admin on April 11th, 2009Expectant mothers have been warned that taking vitamin E during pregnancy can increase the risk of their babies developing heart defects.
A new study has found that consuming as little as three-quarters of the daily recommended amount of the vitamin can increase the risk of a child being born with a heart abnormality by up to nine times.
The study followed the diets of 276 women whose babies had been born with heart problems, and 324 mothers whose children were born healthy. The mothers of babies with heart defects were found to have consumed higher quantities of vitamin E – an average of 13.3mg s per day – compared to 12.6mg consumed by healthy children’s mothers.
Researchers also discovered that women who took similar amounts of vitamin E in the month before conceiving were also more likely to give birth to babies with heart defects.
Eighty-nine of the mothers (32 per cent) with unhealthy babies had an average daily intake of 14.9mg of the vitamin.
The recommended daily intake is 20mg per day, according to EU guidelines.
The research was carried out at the Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre, in Rotterdam and found that women who had taken over 14.9mg a day during the first two months of pregnancy were up to nine times more likely to have a child with a heart defect.
This risk was repeated for women who had consumed more than 14.9mg a day in the month prior to conception according to the study, published in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The study concluded that the results demonstrate that a high maternal intake of vitamin E “is associated with a 1.7 to ninefold increased congenital heart defect risk”.
Obstetrician, Professor Stuart Campbell, said: “This work has to be confirmed but I think there is enough evidence for the Government to advise pregnant women not to take vitamin E supplementation in pregnancy.”
Vitamin E, is found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oils and eggs.
Tags: baby heart defect, health warning, vitamin E