Nutrition and Baby Brain Development

The brain is the most complex organ in the body and, as the control centre of the body, is one of the most important.^1a,2a,3 From birth, responding to everything that is going on around him or her, your child’s brain changes shape and size rapidly.^1b How well it develops depends on genetics and many other factors including:

⦁ Exposure to toxins or infections
⦁ Interaction with other people and their environment
⦁ What they eat ^1c

In the early days of pregnancy, your baby’s nervous system starts to form. From it the brain and spinal cord develop. By the end of pregnancy, the brain has grown significantly. It is able to learn and can even form memories.⁴

At birth, your infant has all of the neurons (brain cells) they will ever have throughout their lifetime. Growing quickly from birth to age three, the human brain produces more than a million neural connections each second.⁵

At weaning stage, usually 4-6 months or so, your infant’s brain grows and develops quickly, so he or she needs enough of the right kind of food for their brain to develop properly.^8a

Foods containing nutrients that are important for early brain development include:

⦁ Protein – meat, poultry, oily fish (wild salmon, cod, trout, mackerel, sea bass), chicken, turkey, tofu, eggs, yogurt, beans, lentils, grains, peanut butter
⦁ Zinc – beef, pork, milk, tofu, kidney beans, peas, lentils, yoghurt
⦁ Copper – mushrooms, shellfish, whole grains, beans, sweet potatoes, blueberries
⦁ Iron – beef, chicken, fish, fortified cereal (vitamin and mineral enriched), beans, leafy greens (such as spinach, kale, broccoli), green peas, avocado
⦁ Selenium – oily fish, chicken, enriched pasta, eggs, brown rice
⦁ Choline – beef, poultry, eggs, white fish, oily fish, lima beans, fortified cereal
⦁ Folate – spinach, orange juice, enriched rice, avocado, whole wheat bread, leafy greens, blueberries
⦁ Iodine – cod, table salt, milk, prawns, egg, canned tuna
⦁ Vitamin A – oily fish, sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, mangoes, eggs, milk, leafy greens
⦁ Vitamin D – mushrooms exposed to UV light (see packaging), oily fish, tuna, milk, fortified non-dairy milks and juice, avocado
⦁ Vitamin K – leafy greens, green peas, blueberries, avocado
⦁ Vitamin B6 – fortified cereal, chickpeas, bananas, sweet potatoes, oily fish, peanut butter, avocado, leafy greens, blueberries
⦁ Vitamin B12 – fortified cereal, oily fish, milk, beef, oily fish, yogurt, cheese, avocado
⦁ Essential fatty acids – oily fish, canola oil, flaxseed, sunflower^2c,10

In the first year of an infant’s life, up to 50% of their calorie intake should come from fat gradually reducing it at age two.^11a Not just any fat, but unsaturated fats, particularly long-chain polyunsaturated fats, also referred to as essential fatty acids because, your brain and body cannot grow and function properly without them.^11b

During breast feeding: your infant receives essential fatty acids through breastmilk (which is 50% fat).

During pregnancy: a developing baby receives essential fatty acids from its mother through the blood that supplies the placenta. The placenta is an organ in the womb that nourishes the developing foetus through the umbilical cord.

During the first two years of your child’s life: brain growth is particularly rapid. About 30% of the dry weight of the brain and eye is made up of essential fatty acids, so once breastfeeding slows down or stops it is important to ensure that your baby does not become EFA deficient – all the more reason to consider a natural supplement.