Chapter 5, Problem 1.1CS

Summary Introduction

To list: Three ways in which Person S’s dietary intake likely contributes to oxidative stress.

Introduction: During pregnancy, the food that the pregnant women consume determines the overall health of the mother and the fetus. Therefore, good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are the main factors that one should always consider during pregnancy. A healthy diet consists of regular intake of whole grain products that are rich in carbohydrates and fibers; fruits and vegetables, a rich source of proteins and antioxidants; olive oil, fish with low mercury content and nuts. Unhealthy foods result in buildup of an oxidative stress in the body, which can cause damage to the cells over the time. The prolonged effects include hypertension, preeclampsia, and other complications.

Explanation of Solution

Person S aged 19 years is an overweight woman who likes to consume only meat and potatoes. She has a very limited intake. Her daily diet includes one vegetable from the monosyllabic vegetables. She prefers one fruit and a glass of chocolate milk. She drinks sweetened ice tea throughout the day, and she eats rice with meat twice a week.

The first 17 weeks of her pregnancy was uneventful. Also, at week 18, she had proteinuria, by week 22, her blood pressure was 150/100mmHg and had developed preeclampsia and insulin resistance. However, after mid-pregnancy, she did not gain weight and restricted her salt intake. Also, she failed to take prenatal vitamin and mineral supplements during the early stages of pregnancy. She delivered her baby weighing 5lb 5oz at week 36 through Cesarean section.

The likelihood of oxidative stress in Person S is due to lack of diet with a combination of basic nutrients because she likes monosyllabic vegetables, consumes sweetened ice tea, and has rice with meat twice a week.

A healthy diet should contain all the essential nutrients including proteins, fibers, carbohydrates, vitamins, and so on and should have low sugar content and refined carbohydrates. However, the diet of Person S lacks nutrients to a great extent because she has a monotonous eating pattern. Besides, she also likes to drink sweetened ice tea with high sugar content and consumes food with very high calories that is rice with meat, which can increase the fat content of the body.