Page 15 - Special Issue: Healthy Baby

When Weston Price studied healthy tradition- source of the important Omega-3 fatty acids. A few of the
al societies, he found that they placed a strong However, they suggest limiting the amount of
emphasis on the nutrition of couples prior to fish due to fears about mercury contamination. modern
pregnancy and of women during pregnancy and (One of the books specifically recommended pregnancy
lactation. The foods these societies considered farm-raised fish containing chemical colorants books
absolutely essential for producing healthy chil- and fed on artificial diets, in order to protect chil-
dren were seafood (fish and shellfish, fish organs, dren from mercury contamination of wild fish! ) mentioned
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fish liver oils and fish eggs), organ meats, insects, None of the books mentions the nutrient-dense the fact that
animal fats, egg yolks, whole milk, cheese and seafood—shellfish, fish organs, or fish eggs. organ meats
butter from cows eating green grass. When stud- Although some authors mention cod liver oil,
ied in the laboratory, Price found these foods to none of the books I reviewed recommended it. are rich
be high in minerals and vitamins, particularly the One book strongly cautioned against fish oils due sources of
fat-soluble vitamins, A, D and Activator X. He to worries about “excessive” levels of vitamins iron and
determined that these traditional diets provided A and D. “Fish oils (e.g., cod liver oil) and liver
ten times the amount of fat-soluble vitamins are not recommended as safe sources of vitamin vitamin A.
compared to the American diet of the 1930s. D for pre-pregnancy or pregnancy.” 8 However‚
Let’s look at the modern pregnancy books’ none
recommendations regarding these foods that were ORGAN MEATS
considered essential to traditional societies. A few of the modern pregnancy books men- recommended
tioned the fact that organ meats are rich sources of them.
SEAFOOD iron and vitamin A. However, none recommended
The modern books generally recommended them. In fact, most contained misleading or out-
some seafood, and rightly state that fish is a good right false statements about vitamin A. “Vitamin

THE BOOKS I REVIEWED

1. The Complete Book of Pregnancy and Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger, Knopf, 2003.

2. Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy by Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, Owl Books, 2002.
3. Nine Months and a Day: A Pregnancy, Labor and Delivery Companion by Linda Hughey Holt, MD, FACOG and
Adrienne B. Lieberman, Harvard Common Press, 2000.

4. The Everything Pregnancy Nutrition Book by Kimberly A. Tessmer, RD, LD, Adams Media Corporation, 2005.

5. Mothering Magazine’s Having a Baby, Naturally by Peggy O’Mara (editor of Parenting magazine) and others, Atria
2003.

6. The Gift of Health by Karin B Michels, ScD, MSc, MPH and Kristine Napier, MPH, RD, LD, Pocket, 2001.

7. Listening to Your Baby by Jay Gordon, MD, Perigee Books, 2002.

8. Before Your Pregnancy by Amy Ogle, MS, RD and Lisa Mazzullo, MD, Ballentine, 2002.

9. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth by Michele Isaacs Glicksman, MD with Theresa Foy DiG-
eronimo, Alpha, 1999.

10.What to Expect When You’re Expecting by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E Murkoff & Sandee E Hathaway, BSN, Work-
man Publishing Company, 2002.

A good project for Weston A. Price members would be to pick one of these books and place a critique of the diet section
on Amazon. Start with Number 10, which is ranked 108. The others are showing lackluster sales, but all have five-star
reviews. This would be an excellent way to make expectant mothers aware of our principles.

Wise Traditions 13