How Does Nutrition Affect A Child's Brain?

Author: Marko Balašević Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

How Does Nutrition Affect A Child's Brain?

The human brain grows most actively in the period up to the 5th year - nutrition is an important factor.

Diets rich in fats, sugars and canned foods in children lead to a decline in intelligence, according to the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) . The study tracks the eating habits of 14,000 children born between 1991 and 1992, according to how they were fed by their parents between the ages of 3 and 5.

Food groups are subdivided into processed : rich in fats and sugars; traditional : including intake of meat and vegetables and healthy : salads, fruits, vegetables, rice.

IQ in the study group was measured by a special Wechsler intelligence test for children when they were 9 years old. The results show that children fed mainly on processed products have up to 1.6 IQ points less than those who consumed mainly traditional products. Children on a healthy diet have the highest results - 3.5 points more than the first group.

The data demonstrate how feeding children between the ages of 3-5 has a direct impact on late childhood and affects school success and adolescent behavior.

The brain develops at the fastest rate in the period up to 5 years of age, which explains the fact that with the growth of the skull, both intellectual and cognitive abilities increase.

Proper nutrition during this period is an important factor for the optimal development of the brain, especially for its functional neurotransmitters. When their balance is disturbed, brain and intellectual development are hindered and often slowed down. The child can be fed abundantly, but if his diet is not varied, there are deficiencies of precursors ( building materials ) for neurotransmitters , the main of which are:

Aspartic acid , a precursor of aspartate: found in nuts, potatoes, eggs and cereals.
Choline , a precursor of acetylcholine: found in eggs, liver and soy.
Glutamic acid, a precursor of glutamate: found in flour, potatoes, fish.
Phenylalanine , a precursor of dopamine: found in red beets, almonds.
Tryptophan , a precursor of serotonin: found in eggs, red meat, bananas, yogurt, cheese.
Tyrosine , a precursor of norepinephrine: found in milk, meat, fish, legumes.

Although the individual needs of children differ significantly, a balanced diet should include regular intake of these products in order to achieve optimal brain development and at a later stage - the intellectual abilities.

How Does Nutrition Affect A Child's Brain?

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