Monday 23 May 2022 08:40 PM Expert warns that 93% of pregnancy-aged women are not getting a key nutrient trends now
Many women are not getting enough of a key pregnancy nutrient that could be vital to a child's brain development, an expert warns, but a quick diet change can help expecting mothers make sure their child gets the substance it needs.
Dr Steven Zeisel, a nutrition expert at the University of North Carolina, told DailyMail.com that the little-known essential nutrient choline could be key to human brain development, but many are not getting enough of it in utero or in the first few years of life.
He says that research has found that the nutrient is essential in brain development, and that the onus falls on the mother to pass it on through her child - whether while she is carrying the baby or through her breast milk after birth.
Not many know about the importance of choline, though, and that children who do not receive enough of it in their first three years of life score worse on cognitive tests and often have worse attention spans than their peers.
An expert says that pregnant women should consume at least 450 mg of choline every day to make sure her baby develops a healthy brain - which can be obtained by eating three eggs daily (file photo)
Zeisel explains that the first 1,000 days of life - or around three years - are when the brain forms. During this period, choline is key to making sure it develops properly.
If the key development does not occur, then it will likely affect the child for the rest of their life.
‘If there is poor development in those early parts of life then the brain doesn’t develop properly, and cognition… at seven years of age is worse,' he said.
'School performance in 15 year olds [who did not receive enough choline] isn’t as good.
'The stem cells that form the brain require [choline] in a critical period of development, and if it isn’t there during that time the structure of the brain isn't formed normally. After that cognition isn’t as ever good.’
Dr Steven Zeisel (pictured), a nutrition expert at the University of North Carolina, told DailyMail.com that choline is a key maternity nutrient that many women are not getting enough of
He also said that children who do not
