GMW: Multiple births may be linked to Monsanto's rBGH

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GMW: Multiple births may be linked to Monsanto's rBGH

" GM WATCH " <info

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 14:18:36 +0100

 

 

 

 

 

GM WATCH daily

http://www.gmwatch.org

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Multiple births bring increased complications for both mothers and

offspring. And according to the expert quoted in this American medical

article, " The continuing increase in the twinning rate into the 1990's...

may also be a consequence of the introduction of growth-hormone

treatment of cows to enhance their milk and beef production. "

 

He goes on to say, " Because multiple gestations are more prone to

complications such as premature delivery, congenital defects and

pregnancy-induced hypertension in the mother than singleton

pregnancies, the

findings of this study suggest that women contemplating pregnancy might

consider substituting meat and dairy products with other protein sources,

**especially in countries that allow growth hormone administration to

cattle**. " [emphasis added]

 

Monsanto's genetically engineered cattle drug, a bovine growth hormone

(rBGH, also known as BST), is widely used for milk production in the

U.S. and is already known to increase production of the insulin-like

growth factor (IGF) in humans. It's banned in both the European Union and

Canada.

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Vegan Women Much Less Likely To Have Twins Than Women Who Eat Animal

Products, Especially Diary

Medical News Today, 22 May 2006

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=43765 & nfid=rssfeeds

 

An obstetrician well known for his care of and research into

multiple-birth pregnancies has found that dietary changes can affect a

woman's

chances of having twins, and that her overall chance is determined by a

combination of diet and heredity. By comparing the twinning rate of

vegan women, who consume no animal products, with that of women who do

eat

animal products, Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long

Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, found that the

women who consume animal products, specifically dairy, are five times

more likely to have twins. The study is published in the May 2006 issue

of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine, available May 20.

 

The Lancet recently published an invited comment by Dr. Steinman on

dietary influences on twinning in the journal's May 6 issue.

 

The culprit may be insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a protein that is

released from the liver of animals -- including humans -- in response

to growth hormone, circulates in the blood and makes its way into the

animal's milk. IGF increases the sensitivity of the ovaries to follicle

stimulating hormone, thereby increasing ovulation. Some studies also

suggest that IGF may help embryos survive in the early stages of

development. The concentration of IGF in the blood is about 13 percent

lower in

vegan women than in women who consume dairy.

 

The twinning rate in the United States has increased significantly

since 1975, about the time assisted reproductive technologies (ART) were

introduced. The intentional delay of childbearing has also contributed to

the increase of multiple-birth pregnancies, since older women are more

likely to have twins even without ART.

 

" The continuing increase in the twinning rate into the 1990's, however,

may also be a consequence of the introduction of growth-hormone

treatment of cows to enhance their milk and beef production, " said Dr.

Steinman.

 

In the current study, when Dr. Steinman compared the twinning rates of

women who ate a regular diet, vegetarian diet with dairy, and vegan

diet, he found that the vegan women had twins at only one-fifth the rate

of women who commonly do not exclude milk from their diets.

 

In addition to a dietary influence on IGF levels, there is a genetic

link in numerous species of animals, including humans. In cattle, regions

of the genetic code that control the rate of twinning have been

detected in close proximity to the IGF gene. Researchers have found

through

large population studies of African American, Caucasian and Asian women

that blood IGF levels are greatest among African Americans and lowest in

Asians. Some women are just genetically programmed to make more IGF

than others. Twinning rates in these demographic groups parallel the IGF

levels. <br><br>

 

" This study shows for the first time that the chance of having twins is

affected by both heredity and environment, or in other words, by both

nature and nurture, " said Dr. Steinman. These findings are similar to

those observed in cows by other researchers, namely that a woman's chance

of having twins appears to correlate directly with her blood level of

insulin-like growth factor.

 

" Because multiple gestations are more prone to complications such as

premature delivery, congenital defects and pregnancy-induced hypertension

in the mother than singleton pregnancies, the findings of this study

suggest that women contemplating pregnancy might consider substituting

meat and dairy products with other protein sources, especially in

countries that allow growth hormone administration to cattle, " said Dr.

Steinman.

 

Dr. Steinman has been studying factors that cause or contribute to

twinning ever since he delivered a rare set of identical quadruplets in

1997 at LIJ Medical Center. His most recent study published in this

month's Journal of Reproductive Medicine on fraternal, or dizygotic,

twinning

is the seventh in a series. The other six studies, published in the

same journal, focused on identical, or monozygotic, twinning. Some of his

findings are summarized below.

 

Previous twinning studies

 

Dr. Steinman found that women who become pregnant while breastfeeding

are nine times more likely to conceive twins than women who are not

breastfeeding at the time of conception. He also confirmed findings by

others that identical twin sets are more often female than male,

especially

in conjoined twin sets, and that monozygotic twin sets are more likely

to miscarry than dizygotic sets.

 

Dr. Steinman also found evidence through fingerprint analysis that as

the number of fetuses in a monozygotic set increases, so does the level

of physical diversity among them. In his most recent study of the

mechanisms of twinning prior to the new study, Dr. Steinman confirmed

that

use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) methods increases the incidence of

monozygotic twinning -- where the transfer and/or implantation of two

embryos results in three infants -- and he proposed that adding more

calcium or reducing the chelating agent ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid

(EDTA) in the IVF incubation media might decrease the unwanted

complication.

 

Christina Verni

North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System

http://www.northshorelij.com

 

 

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