FDAS2 gene will make breastfed babies smarter

According to a recent scientific study, breastfed babies will be smarter if they have an additional FDAS2 gene variant. This is a gene involved in controlling the movement of fatty acids and helps children absorb breast milk better .

The study was published in the Proceedings of the US National Academy of Sciences on November 5, with 1,037 children in New Zealand and 1,116 families with homosexual twins in England and Wales. The results showed that the same breastmilk, but children with FADS2 gene variants had higher IQs than children without this gene variant from 5.6 to 6.3 points.

Being breastfed together, but children with FADS2 gene variants had a higher IQ than children without this gene variant from 5.6 to 6.3 points.(Photo: Wordpress.com)

This study focused on the metabolism of long-chain cholesterone-free fatty acid (LC-PUFAS) - this is the fatty acid found in human milk but not in cow's milk.

LC-PUFAS in breastmilk is believed to improve cognitive development, because fatty acids both help neurotransmitters become effective, and play a role in neuronal development and regeneration.

Participants in this study are experts from King's University (UK), Duke University (USA) and Otago University (New Zealand).

Intelligence - especially for children - has long been at the center of the debate among scientists about the relationship between nutrition and intellectual development. Therefore, this study has contributed to clarifying some more issues in this area.

According to the research team: 'This finding contains many things, including more understanding of the role of genetic factors. So far, many studies of the genetic-environmental interaction have focused on finding genetic variants that make people susceptible to environmental pathogens. But the gene is not only meaningful, but the gene variant is also capable of producing beneficial reactions to human health. '

Quang Thinh