When I was pregnant with my second son and my blood pressure became a concern, my midwife put me on an egg-eating regimen. With a history of pre-eclampsia, we were on a mission to avoid that diagnosis at all costs. I was advised to eat one egg and drink a half cup of milk every hour for 17 hours per day. I was to do this for 3 days.
Yes, that’s 51 eggs in three days. The result? A blood pressure that was somewhere in the ballpark of 117/78.
What I didn’t know back then was that choline, a main component in eggs and milk, not only has an impact on gestational hypertension, but can also impact the fetus’ health later in life. By ingesting increased choline during the third trimester of pregnancy, the baby is less at risk for hypertension and diabetes as they age.
A study found that pregnant women ingesting more than 900 milligrams of choline have babies with a decreased concentration of cortisol, a stress hormone. By having a decreased cortisol level, the child is less likely to suffer from stress related illnesses such as hypertension and type 2 diabetes.
It looks like eggs should be a staple in any expecting mamas diet, not only for her health, but the health of her baby, too.
—