News You Can Use: Western Diets, Autism, and ADHD
No one should be surprised that the health of a pregnant mom and what she puts in her body can affect the health and development of her developing baby. For decades, medicine has been aware of the effects of smoking, alcohol, various medications, and nutritional deficiencies on a baby’s future health. This Danish study raises strong concerns that a diet high in fat, sugar, and refined products may increase the risk of Autism and ADHD.
With data from over 60,000 mother-baby pairs in Denmark and the United States, researchers compared analyses of dietary patterns with rates of autism and ADHD diagnoses. While some might dismiss this as a stretch or coincidence of statistics, the researchers validated their findings in multiple ways. This included a very detailed neurodevelopmental analysis of almost 600 children. Even in focus groups in which genetics were considered, the influence of a Western diet remained.
In the focus study, the researchers were able to identify 43 metabolites which were altered by a Western diet. For those who demonstrated the greater deviations in these markers, especially during the first and second trimesters, the risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities was higher.
Providing findings like this for our readers is important, but everything must be put into context. For example, the study authors included mention of other findings indicating that up to 80% of ADHD and Autism depends on genetics. Given the rising rates of these diseases, I am a little skeptical about that, but that was their report. We should also keep in mind that those who follow an unhealthy diet may have other lifestyle influences which also impact these conditions. Multiple factors combine to determine if a child has these conditions.
Hopefully, this encourages all of us, but especially women of childbearing age, to cut back on the inflammatory foods of a Western diet and live a healthier more abundant life.
Original Article:
David Horner, Jens Richardt M. Jepsen, Bo Chawes, Kristina Aagaard, Julie B. Rosenberg, Parisa Mohammadzadeh, Astrid Sevelsted, Nilo Vahman, Rebecca Vinding, Birgitte Fagerlund, Christos Pantelis, Niels Bilenberg, Casper-Emil T. Pedersen, Anders Eliasen, Sarah Brandt, Yulu Chen, Nicole Prince, Su H. Chu, Rachel S. Kelly, Jessica Lasky-Su, Thorhallur I. Halldorsson, Marin Strøm, Katrine Strandberg-Larsen, Sjurdur F. Olsen, Birte Y. Glenthøj, Klaus Bønnelykke, Bjørn H. Ebdrup, Jakob Stokholm, Morten Arendt Rasmussen. A western dietary pattern during pregnancy is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence. Nature Metabolism, 2025; DOI: 10.1038/s42255-025-01230-z
Thanks to Science Daily:
University of Copenhagen – Faculty of Science. “Strong link between Western diet during pregnancy and ADHD.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 March 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250303141648.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
