Diet & pregnancy

High protein diet, like the Atkins, could prove harmful for women who are trying to conceive.

Researchers in America have discovered that a moderately high protein diet, like the Atkins, could prove harmful for women who are trying to conceive.

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The research was carried out by a team led by Dr David Gardner, Scientific Director of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, Englewood, USA,

A diet containing 25% protein disrupted the normal genetic imprinting pattern (process of inheriting specifically from the mother or the father) in mice embryos at a very early stage in their development. The diet also adversely affected subsequent embryo implantation in the womb and foetal development.

"Although our investigations were conducted in mice, our data may have implications for diet and reproduction in humans," said Dr Gardner, who led the research.

"Eating a moderately high protein diet, which results in elevated ammonium levels in the female reproductive tract, adversely affects the pre-implantation embryo in the living animal. Blastocysts from mothers on a 25% protein diet exhibited abnormal imprinting of the H19 gene and retarded foetal development after transfer. Furthermore, there was significantly higher foetal loss rate at the pre-implantation stage in the 25% protein group," Dr. Gardner added.

"These findings, together with similar work carried out in cows, mean that it would be prudent to advise couples who are trying to conceive, either naturally or via ART, to ensure that the woman's protein intake is less than 20% of their total energy consumption. The available data certainly indicate that a high protein diet is not advisable while trying to conceive," he concluded.