很努力的學種 beet ，昨晚夢中也在背書 😶
BEETS /// I want to highlight a few factoids about beets & why you should make an effort to eat them, especially in pregnancy.
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Not only do beets have a respectable amount of folate & potassium, but they’re rich in a special nutrient called betaine. Ever heard of it? It got the name because it was first isolated from beets. Betaine’s fancy chemical name—and how find it in supplements—is trimethylglycine (TMG).
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What does betaine have to do with pregnancy? Whelp, it’s a cofactor for methylation, just like folate, choline, glycine, B6, and B12. That means it’s essential for ensuring your baby’s DNA is formed properly (#epigenetics!). It’s also needed to keep inflammation down, which is a vital for placental health & preventing #pregnancycomplications.
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Betaine is a metabolite of choline (see my recent post on choline; still linked in bio), but in pregnancy, choline metabolism favors a different pathway to help supply the baby with enough phosphatidylcholine & sphingomyelin (cell membranes, myelin, lung surfactant, bile lipids, etc.) and for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.
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Thus, when choline (or betaine) intake is low, these nutrients are less likely to aid methylation and more likely to go to higher priority tasks.
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This isn’t a bad thing; your body is smart. Nutrients work in synergy to try to make up for any “holes” in your diet. However, there is data showing that higher maternal choline & betaine status at 16 weeks of pregnancy is significantly associated w/ better infant cognitive development (interestingly, maternal folate & B12 status were not significant).
To ensure adequate levels of betaine, you first want to prioritize getting enough choline (eggs!). More choline = adequate levels of #betaine.
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Second, get more betaine directly from #beets, #spinach, #quinoa (note these 3 are all from the same food family - weird, right?), certain whole grains, & some shellfish.
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Betaine concentrations in whole grains are quite a bit lower than the first 3 foods listed, but can still contribute to your intake. If the first trimester has/had you eating more grains/bread than usual (#nausea + #foodaversions), maybe this will put your mind at ease!
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