Pregnant women in this country are for ever being warned about the danger of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - and don't get me wrong:  I realize it is a very sad and too frequent problem.  However, it has always made me wonder why the entire nation of France, where judicious wine drinking  is  recommended to relax pregnant women and indeed, is an integral part of their lifestyle - how come, as I say, all the  babies born there are not suffering from FAS?

Another French paradox.  And like the other one, dependent on diet.

It turns out that in a mouse study, adding B3 (nicotinamide) to the diet prevented FAS.  B3 is found in :  Lean meat, chicken breast, turkey breast, fish & seafood, kidney, liver, rhubarb, avocado, figs, dates, prunes, free range eggs, milk products, brown rice, white wheat, brewer's yeast, wheat germ, barley, roasted peanuts.

So emphasize B vitamin rich foods for a healthy outcome to a pregnancy, even if a little wine is consumed. Extra wheat germ and brewer's yeast would be good.

Here is the study.

I can't help it, I feel a pleasant glow when the things we holistic nutritionists have been saying for years, finally get the science behind them - it seems to happen so regularly.  I remember, for example, telling a client in 1975 or so that butter was infinitely better than margarine for the health:  and being ostracized in consequence!

Here is a damning report on the effect of factory farming on the nutrient levels in foods.

And, since I can't resist the opportunity to preach a bit about a subject dear to my heart, here is an even more damning commentary on the social effects of that inhumane practice:

THE MEATRIX