Top news in nutrition: plant-based diets, food insecurity and more

For National Women’s Health Week, the Healio Editors compiled news on nutrition of interest to women’s health providers.

Highlights include the role of plant-based diet in preventing and treating endometriosis; reasons for limiting dark chocolate consumption during pregnancy; risks for of fecal incontinence with food insecurity; and more.

Read these articles, and others, below.

Plant-based diet may aid in preventing, treating endometriosis

Diet may play an important role in the pathophysiology of endometriosis. A plant-based diet and vitamin D could be beneficial in preventing and treating the disease, according to a review published in Frontiers in Nutrition. Read more

Pro-inflammatory diet during pre-, early perimenopause raises fracture risk

Women who maintained a more pro-inflammatory diet before menopause and in early perimenopause had increased risk for future fractures, according to data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. Read more

Limit dark chocolate consumption in pregnancy to avoid excess heavy metals

Certain dark chocolate bar brands contain high levels of lead and cadmium. These heavy metals, even in small concentrations, can have adverse consequences for pregnant people and developing fetuses. Read more

Expensive lactation cookies ineffective

Lactation-boosting cookies appeared to be ineffective after a month-long randomized clinical trial and may only offer “false hope and unnecessary financial costs” to vulnerable patients, according to researchers. Read more

Food-insecure women have greater odds of fecal incontinence

Food insecurity among women was associated with a higher likelihood of fecal incontinence, even when accounting for diet, according to data published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Read more

Artificially sweetened beverages do not increase women’s odds of urinary incontinence

Consumption of artificially sweetened beverages was not associated with stress or urgency urinary incontinence, researchers reported. Read more