Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables every day dramatically reduces the risk of miscarriage.
Women can reduce the risk by as much as 61 percent, researchers from the University of Birmingham have discovered.
Conversely, women who eat a junk food diet of refined carbohydrates and processed meats double their risk of miscarriage.
It’s all to do with inflammation, the researchers conclude after analysing 20 studies that had monitored more than 60,000 women. The antioxidants in fruit, vegetables, seafood, eggs and grains all reduce inflammation, while processed foods increase it.
Fruit had the biggest protective effect, and women who make it part of their daily diet reduce their risk by 61 percent compared to someone eating little or no fruit. Vegetables had a lower protective effect, but still reduced miscarriage risk by 41 percent. Dairy products lowered the risk by 37 percent, grains by 33 percent and seafood and eggs by 19 percent.
Although the healthy diet mirrored much of the Mediterranean Diet, the researchers said they could not prove all the elements—which also include oils, nuts, beans and lentils—had a protective effect.
Around 15 percent of pregnancies end in a miscarriage, and the researchers think that a diet of processed food could play a big role in early termination.
