Milk and Meat Increase the Chances of Having Twins

The chances for women who include dairy products as milk and meat, in their everyday diet are five times greater to have twins than women who are vegans. This finding has been made in a study by obstetrician/gynecologist Gary Steinman of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, according to an article in Science Illustrated.

Globally, the number of twin births have increased sharply over the past 30 years, and scientists have so far considered that this is mainly because of our use of reproductive technology has grew with the years and therefore more women get treatment for infertility. But the study concludes that even the dietary habits affect, that the consumption of dairy products raises women's chances of having twins.

According to the article, Dr. Gary Steinman studied three groups of women based on their dietary habits: vegans (those who eat no animal or dairy products at all), vegetarians (those who don't eat meat but do consume dairy products), and omnivores (those who eat all kinds of food, including meat and dairy products).

The findings of Dr. Gary Steinman's study are showing that the vegan women participating in his study had twins less often, more precisely five times less than the other two groups.

The explanation behind the result of his study is probably that animal foods, especially milk and other dairy products contain a protein, called Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF), which increases in amount when cattle are given growth hormone to boost their milk and beef supply. When the women then ingest the milk from these types of animals, their own hormones respond to the higher IGF levels by stimulating ovulation. And when the milk-drinking women ovulate more eggs, the chances of having two eggs fertilized at the same time increases.

The IGF level, insulin-like growth factors, in vegan women's blood is concluded to be 13 percent lower than in women who are eating and drinking dairy products, the article mentions.

Science Illustrated, illvet.se