Mom eat a lot of meat, smart children

Pregnant mothers need to eat a lot of eggs and meat because they are rich in choline, a vital nutrient for young brain development. Babies who are not breastfed will have less intellectual development without choline supplements from other foods.

Pregnant mother needs to eat a lot of eggs, meat (Photo: fotosearch) Professor Nguyen Cong Khanh, deputy director of Pediatrics Department of Hanoi Medical University, former director of the Central Children's Hospital said choline is an essential nutrient contribute to the creation of neurons and participation in neurotransmission, so it involves cognition and intelligence.

It also has antioxidant effects, delaying the natural death process of cells, while helping to develop vision. While it is necessary, the amount of choline that the body produces is far less than the actual need, so it is necessary to supplement it with food.

Choline has been known for a long time, but its importance to children's brain development was discovered four years ago. At the conference on pediatric nutrition has just taken place in Hanoi, Dr. Sheila Margaret Innis of the University of Toronto (Canada), one of the leading scientists in nutrition with brain development, said: some substances in dietary supplements that are not considered essential nutrients, actually play an extremely important role in supporting the overall human development, most notably choline and acids Double polyunsaturated fats such as DHA, ARA.

Ms. Innis said people need regular choline supplement but the most important moment is the first 1-2 years of life. This is when the brain grows at the fastest rate. By 2 years of age, brain weight has tripled compared to birth and nearly the size of an adult's brain.

Studies in many countries show that children who lack choline develop their intelligence more slowly than their peers. This situation exists even until 8-10 years later. So, in addition to providing enough energy and vitamins, Dr. Khanh thinks it is time for parents to pay attention to the nutrients of intellect, including choline. Choline demand in children is 125 mg / day under 6 months and 150 mg / day at a later stage.

Choline is found to be the most abundant in breast milk with a concentration of 160 mg / liter . In addition, it is also present in some other foods with a content of over 100 g of food as follows: Eggs: 215 mg; skinless roasted chicken: 79 mg; 78 mg beef; wheat: 32 mg; orange juice: 11 mg; Banana: 10 mg. In addition, un-milled rice, cabbage also contain significant amounts of choline.

To provide enough choline for children, Dr. Nguyen Cong Khanh advises pregnant and lactating mothers to eat the above choline-rich foods, or powdered milk with this supplement. For children, exclusive breastfeeding is required during the first 6 months and continue to breastfeed until 2 years of age.

If the baby does not have a breast-feeding condition, or is not feeding enough, needing to supplement choline-rich foods, it is best to give this supplement. Dr. Nguyen Cong Khanh said, for infant formula, the standard choline content recommended by the US Institute of Medicine is 24 mg / 100 kcal, equivalent to 107 mg in 100 g of milk powder. "In addition to checking calcium, vitamins, mothers when buying milk for children need to pay attention to the content of choline in milk boxes" - Dr. Khanh advised.

According to Khanh, there are some choline supplements in the market for Vietnamese baby milk, but most do not meet the recommended standard.