Profet, profits, and proof: do nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy protect women from "harmful" vegetables?
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this research was to test a widely publicized theory that nausea and vomiting of pregnancy protects women from ingesting certain vegetables and other foods that produce congenital anomalies and other adverse outcomes of pregnancy.


METHODS
The theory was tested with use of data on dietary intake, illness, and pregnancy outcome obtained from 549 women participating in a prospective, population-based study.


RESULTS
No relationship between intake of proscribed vegetables and other foods and the presence of nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy was identified. Intake of proscribed foods was unrelated to adverse outcomes of pregnancy.


CONCLUSIONS
It is suggested that claims made in the popular press about food and health relationships should be evaluated by the media as fiction unless supported by scientific research.
Brown
J E
JE
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55454-1015, USA.
Kahn
E S
ES
Hartman
T J
TJ
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D009325:Nausea; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000209:etiology*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014839:Vomiting