Contents:
- Medical Video: Vitamin B3 could Prevent Birth defects and Miscarriages!
- Benefits of vitamin B3 for pregnant women and their babies
- Further research is still needed
Medical Video: Vitamin B3 could Prevent Birth defects and Miscarriages!
In addition to fulfilling nutritional and balanced nutrition from food consumed daily, pregnant women may also take vitamin supplements as additional nutritional intake. Well, among the many pregnancy supplements that are good for pregnant women, vitamin B3 supplements may not be so popular. In fact, based on recent research it is known that routine B3 supplementation during pregnancy can reduce the risk of miscarriage and birth defects.
Benefits of vitamin B3 for pregnant women and their babies
Quoted from the Medical Daily page, a study conducted for 12 years by a number of researchers from Victor Change University in Sydney, Australia showed that pregnant women can prevent the risk of miscarriage and disabled babies routinely taking vitamin B3 supplements.
This research was conducted by finding out the reasons why pregnant women experience several miscarriages and a number of incidents of babies born with conditions of heart, kidney, and spinal defects. As a result, the researchers found that the cause of the condition was because pregnant women lacked NAD.
NAD is Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide, a molecule that acts as an important nutrient for the development of the baby's organs and keeps the baby safe in the womb during pregnancy. NAD is formed naturally in the body from the intake of healthy foods such as eggs, cheese, salmon, green vegetables, beans, and grains consumed by the mother during pregnancy. Well, aside from food intake, from the study it was known that NAD could also be obtained through vitamin B3 supplements.
The results of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine are claimed to be one of the biggest and most important medical discoveries after folic acid. Researchers also say that this discovery could potentially help millions of women around the world.
Further research is still needed
To test this study, the research team deliberately gave the NAD gene to pregnant mice who were also given a regular dose of vitamin B3. As a result, vitamin B3 has been proven to prevent miscarriages and birth defects and overcome genetic blockages in mice.
However, reported by the BBC, although vitamin B3 was proven to prevent birth defects in mice, clinical geneticist David Amor of Royal Childern's Melbourne said that its application to humans was still not confirmed. Other studies published in the Cochrane Library show that taking vitamins before pregnancy is not proven to prevent miscarriages. But indeed consumption of iron and folic acid can reduce the risk of stillbirth (stillbirth).
Therefore, it is not yet known whether vitamin B3 also has the same benefits when consumed by humans to prevent babies with birth defects and miscarriages.
The Telethon Institute also said that until now it was unclear whether vitamin B3 deficiency was the only cause of birth defects and vitamin B3 supplements were able to prevent the problem.
Whereas according to the Australian Medical Association (AMA), this finding is indeed very interesting. Unfortunately, it is still too early to compare the results of this study with folic acid. Not only that, most miscarriages in humans are caused by genetic problems, as well as chromosomal abnormalities or environmental factors.
That is why further research on a larger scale is still needed before doctors recommend vitamin B3 supplements for pregnant women.
