In 1893, Ellen White wrote that it was a mistake for pregnant women to eat anything and everything they might crave, because this could harm their children; “women… will consider that another life is dependent upon them, and will be careful in all their habits, and especially. in diet. They should not eat that which is [not nutritious] simply because it tastes good” [CD 220.2,3]. Pregnancy cravings, caused by hormonal and psychological factors, are real but not always healthy. A commonly craved item is sugar.
Researchers estimate that most pregnant women and lactating moms eat three times more sugar than recommended, exceeding 80 grams per day. Sugar is also present in store brand infant and toddler foods, so babies are exposed to excessive amounts of sugar before and after birth. Early sugar exposure in the first 1,000 days after conception, including the months after birth, can increase a child’s risk for type 2 diabetes, obesity, and hypertension in adulthood. Babies who are nurtured in a womb where their mother eats a high sugar diet are more inclined to have a lifelong urge for sweet foods and beverages. This is a new discovery that was reviewed in the journal, Science, in October 2024.
Another study reviewed in the European Respiratory Journal in 2017 suggested that the more sugar a mom ate while pregnant, the higher the risk will be for her child to develop what are known as atopic diseases including asthma, eczema, and food allergies.
While scientists are just beginning to understand the lifetime impact that a pregnancy diet has on a baby, Ellen White understood these processes more than a century ago. She explained that children suffer the consequences of their mother’s poor dietary choices before, during, and after pregnancy. Her wisdom was ahead of its time.