The Ypsilanti daily press., 1946-04-05
Your Health
Pregnant Women
Should Have Plenty
of Meat in Diet

BY HERMAN BUNDESEN. NJ. Z
PRoTEINS are the very stun
Of life.
These complex substances
might be called the building
blocks of the body since they en-
ter into the composition Of every
cell. They are material from
which new tissues are made and
worn-out cells rebuilt.
Thus, il is doubly important
that the mother-to-be get plenty
Of proteins. On this, her own we'll
being and that Of her unborn
child depend. Yet, Q number Of
studies of the diets Of pregnant
women show that many do not
get an adequate amount Of pro-
tein.
Pregnancy Diet
Ruth NJ. Leverton and Thelma
J. Mcmillan of Lincoln, Nebraska
carried out a study Of the effec-
tiveness Of o simple diet plan
which would make sure that the
pregnant woman would get all
Of the protein she needed. par
ticularly II she were suffering
from anemia or lack OF coloring
in the blood. The simple recon-
mendation which they made was
that the pregnant woman should
eat plenty Of meat, that Is, have
a generous serving Of meat at
least twice a day.
Meat supplies plenty Of pro-
tein and the proteins in meat fur
nish all of the essential amino
acids. Proteins are made up OF
these amino acids and 1t has been
found that ten of them are neces-
sary for growth and the normal
repair Of tissue.
Furthermore, by eating two
generous servings Of meat twice
a day, sufficient protein Ii sup
piled without crowding out OF
the diet other important foods
such as eggs, vegetables, fruits,
wholegrain cereals and butter.
vitamins and Minerals
Meat contains other elements
necessary for keeping the diet
well-balanced, such as vitamins
and minerals. 1t has . good ap-
ueal to the appetite. There is .
widespread notion that 1t is not
q good thing for women to eat
much meat during pregnancy but
the study which has been carried
out proves that this Is wrong.
The women studied were under
SO years Of age. In addition to the
regular diet and the use Of meat,
the majority of the women were
receiving a preparation supply
ing vitamins A and d and calcium
phosphate. For each woman who
received this type Of diet, another
was chosen who had similar diet
without the extra meat, but in
stead a capsule supplying vita
min B-complex. Still another
group equal IN number received
no supplement to the diet.
More Coloring
II was found that the women
who received the meat had more
eoloring in the blood and a larger
number Of red blood cells and had
better success in nursing their
babies than the women who re-
ceived the B-complex supplement-
or those who received no supple
ment at all. Furthermore, they
suffered less often from edema
or swelling of the tissues.
Hence, it is concluded that re-
commencing TO pregnant women
that they increase the amount Of
protein in their diets is helpful in
keeping up the coloring and red
cells in the blood, avoiding edema
and helping in breast feeding.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
D.L.B.: Does missing a month
ly period always denote pregnhn-
cy?
Answer: Missing a monthly per-
iod does not always denote preg-
nancy. 1t is possible that there
is some glandular disturbance
which is responsible for your fail
ure to menstruate. However, in
order to be sure. a thorough and
complete examination by the doc
tor is necessary. It 1t Is found
there Is q glandulsr deficiency,
treatment with glandular extracts
may be Of help. suggest that you
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