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Consuming milk, vitamin D during pregnancy can decrease baby's risk of MS

Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

A preliminary study released this week has found that drinking milk during pregnancy may help reduce a woman's chances of giving birth to a daughter who develops multiple sclerosis as an adult.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston passed out questionnaires to over 35,000 mothers of U.S. registered nurses, asking them about their experiences and diet during their pregnancy. They discovered that the group of women gave birth to nearly 200 daughters who developed MS over a 16-year period.

After compiling the data, the research team found that the risk of developing MS was lower among women born to mothers who had a high intake of milk or dietary vitamin D during pregnancy.

"The risk of MS among daughters whose mothers consumed four glasses of milk per day was 56 percent lower than daughters whose mothers consumed less than three glasses of milk per month," said Fariba Mirzaei, researcher at the School of Public Health.

Separate studies have also indicated that vitamin D supplementation may help decrease the risk of developing high blood pressure.