NoMU Talks Daily Dietetics – This Month: Adele van den Berg
We are very excited to share the joy of NoMU’s NPD leader, Teresa as she is happily pregnant with a bouncing baby girl! But before we get too excited, as we all know there are certain dietary requirements that one needs to be aware of during pregnancy from avoiding sushi and alcohol to limiting one’s intake of caffeine.
Because Teresa is one of our own and we only want the best for her we thought we’d investigate the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy and infant dietetics and who better to speak to than Adele van den Berg RD. (SA)! Adele has always had a love for food as well as a strong interest in medicine so she decided to combine the two and now specializes in pregnancy, breastfeeding and infant nutrition as well as weight loss, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
If you’d like to make an appointment with Adele you can reach her on (011) 304-7895 or email her on adelelin@telkomsa.net.
Adele comes across many dietary problems in her practice some of which are diseases of lifestyle including obesity, overweight, diabetes and heart disease while others include gastrointestinal problems, kidney and liver disease as well as a variety of pediatric problems such as failure to thrive, fussy eating and food allergies.
Adele explains that pediatric nutrition is much broader than adult nutrition – for adults there are diseases that can be treated with nutritional intervention whereas with children there are also diseases, but the diseases may be specific to an age group. Even for the same condition, the nutritional therapy changes according to the age of the child. This means that pediatric nutrition requires age as well as disease specific approaches, rather than just disease specific approaches. Adele believes that most nutritional problems are a combination of both genetics and environment:
“The health and disease risk of a child can go back to the womb – in a process called nutritional programming, the mother’s nutritional adequacy in certain nutrients such as iron and calcium can determine risk of heart disease and obesity later in life.”
During pregnancy there is a high risk of getting infections which is why dietary restrictions during pregnancy are so important. We all know that alcohol is definitely a no-no as it causes foetal alcohol syndrome (which involves a pattern of mental and physical defects as well as psychological and behavioural problems), but Adele explains that this is not the only thing that pregnant women need to beware of.
Foods to avoid include raw foods such as sushi, biltong and any undercooked meat as they may be infected with bacteria and tape worm which pose a much higher risk to pregnant women. Soft cheeses like cottage cheese, cream cheese, pâtés and unpasteurized milk are also foods that could be harmful as they may contain the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes which can cause spontaneous abortions and foetal meningitis.
While there are a few foods that need to be avoided during pregnancy, a deficiency in nutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin D during pregnancy are also of major concern as this is linked to nutritional programming and premature, low birth weight infants while a deficiency in folic acid can lead to neural tube defects (which is an opening in the brain or spinal cord during early human development) or spina bifida, which leads to mental incapabilities as well as deformations. This is why the use of a pregnancy specific multivitamin and a balanced diet is extremely important.
“Allergy risk and progression can also develop in infancy, due to environmental factors but also food intake. Genetic factors also play a role in disease risk such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, as well as determining body shape.”
However, Adele maintains that blaming unhealthy habits or obesity on genes is not an excuse. She explains that by making the correct lifestyle and dietary choices genes can be “muted”, and disease risk will decrease.
“Eating behaviour is a major determinant of lifestyle factors and disease development. In children and infants, the parents have a responsibility to teach their children healthy eating, and be role models in their teachings. School friends, teachers, grandparents and caretakers all have an influence on the development of food habits.”
We care about healthy eating at NoMU so if you are currently pregnant or thinking about having a baby you should take care of your body and what you put in it. We’ve put together a fun diagram to help you choose the right foods to ensure you and your baby stay healthy and happy!
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NoMU Talks Daily Dietetics – This Month: Adele van den Berg
Because Teresa is one of our own and we only want the best for her we thought we’d investigate the do’s and don’ts of pregnancy and infant dietetics and who better to speak to than Adele van den Berg RD. (SA)! Adele has always had a love for food as well as a strong interest in medicine so she decided to combine the two and now specializes in pregnancy, breastfeeding and infant nutrition as well as weight loss, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
If you’d like to make an appointment with Adele you can reach her on (011) 304-7895 or email her on adelelin@telkomsa.net.
Adele comes across many dietary problems in her practice some of which are diseases of lifestyle including obesity, overweight, diabetes and heart disease while others include gastrointestinal problems, kidney and liver disease as well as a variety of pediatric problems such as failure to thrive, fussy eating and food allergies.
Adele explains that pediatric nutrition is much broader than adult nutrition – for adults there are diseases that can be treated with nutritional intervention whereas with children there are also diseases, but the diseases may be specific to an age group. Even for the same condition, the nutritional therapy changes according to the age of the child. This means that pediatric nutrition requires age as well as disease specific approaches, rather than just disease specific approaches. Adele believes that most nutritional problems are a combination of both genetics and environment:
“The health and disease risk of a child can go back to the womb – in a process called nutritional programming, the mother’s nutritional adequacy in certain nutrients such as iron and calcium can determine risk of heart disease and obesity later in life.”
Foods to avoid include raw foods such as sushi, biltong and any undercooked meat as they may be infected with bacteria and tape worm which pose a much higher risk to pregnant women. Soft cheeses like cottage cheese, cream cheese, pâtés and unpasteurized milk are also foods that could be harmful as they may contain the bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes which can cause spontaneous abortions and foetal meningitis.
While there are a few foods that need to be avoided during pregnancy, a deficiency in nutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin D during pregnancy are also of major concern as this is linked to nutritional programming and premature, low birth weight infants while a deficiency in folic acid can lead to neural tube defects (which is an opening in the brain or spinal cord during early human development) or spina bifida, which leads to mental incapabilities as well as deformations. This is why the use of a pregnancy specific multivitamin and a balanced diet is extremely important.
“Allergy risk and progression can also develop in infancy, due to environmental factors but also food intake. Genetic factors also play a role in disease risk such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, as well as determining body shape.”
However, Adele maintains that blaming unhealthy habits or obesity on genes is not an excuse. She explains that by making the correct lifestyle and dietary choices genes can be “muted”, and disease risk will decrease.
“Eating behaviour is a major determinant of lifestyle factors and disease development. In children and infants, the parents have a responsibility to teach their children healthy eating, and be role models in their teachings. School friends, teachers, grandparents and caretakers all have an influence on the development of food habits.”
We care about healthy eating at NoMU so if you are currently pregnant or thinking about having a baby you should take care of your body and what you put in it. We’ve put together a fun diagram to help you choose the right foods to ensure you and your baby stay healthy and happy!