The Benefits of Eggs for Pregnant Women

Although prices are relatively cheap, in fact eggs contain a great benefit to health. No exception for pregnant women. The content of choline in egg is known to reduce the risk of babies suffering from the disease and reduce the stress of pre-natal.

The results of the study the researchers from Cornell University suggests that choline may help protect a mother from the effects of stress during pregnancy. Previous research has indicated that the exposure of high cortisol (stress hormone) during pregnancy can make children susceptible to stress-induced illness and chronic conditions. This study increase the evidence of the importance of choline in fetal development.

In his study, researchers involved 24 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who were randomly assigned to consume either 480 milligrams (mg) of choline per day or 930 mg of choline per day for 12 weeks.

Then, the researchers collected samples of maternal blood and placenta and placental tissue samples. They then compared the levels of cortisol and genetic differences between all samples. The researchers observed a lower level of cortisol in the umbilical cord and changes in cortisol, which regulates genes in both placental and fetal tissue in women who had high intake of choline.

"The findings suggest that high intake of choline during pregnancy may counteract some detrimental effects of prenatal stress. Such behavior, neuroendocrine, and metabolic disorders," said lead researcher, Marie Caudill, PhD, of Cornell University.

Caudill revealed that choline has tremendous benefits for pregnant women because it has been shown to play an important role in fetal and infant brain development, affecting the area of the brain responsible for memory and learning ability.

In addition, studies have shown women with low dietary choline has four times greater risk of having babies with neural tube defects, like spina bifida. In fact, other studies have also shown additional benefits of choline include breast cancer prevention, anti-inflammatory, and brain function.

According to Caudill, eggs are a rich source of choline, because it contains 125 milligrams in an egg. It is found exclusively in the egg yolks and egg whites instead. The findings are published in the latest issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.