Nutrition comes first for brain development |

This is a translated copy of the original article published in Turkish.

Activities and games for boosting babies’ intelligence are widely shared among mothers on social media. However, it is important to remember that nutrition plays a much earlier and more fundamental role, beginning when our baby is still in the womb, long before any activities start.

Did you know that 70% of the brain’s mass is formed by the age of 1? And that to support this rapid growth, half of a baby’s daily calorie intake up to age 2 should come from healthy fats? Also, that baby biscuits, puddings, and sugary foods provide empty – and even harmful – calories?

Before delving deeper into nutrition, let us take a look at the main factors that influence brain development and a child’s future intelligence. Although ranking these factors by importance is not yet scientifically possible, we can arrange them chronologically by when they start to have an effect:

Genetic factors – from the moment of conception
Nutrition – from the womb and throughout life
Love and attention – from birth (and possibly even before birth)
Sleep patterns – from birth, beginning with day-night differentiation
Intelligence-stimulating activities and games – from around 3 months of age, especially after 1 year

Since we cannot change our genes, the first and most important step for supporting a baby’s intelligence is to provide the right nutrients. That said, genes do not change, but environmental factors such as nutrition, sleep, and love can influence how genes are expressed – helping beneficial genes become more active or reducing the expression of harmful ones.
(You may also want to look at my articles about how consistent sleep routines affect success and how to establish a sleep pattern.)

The factors above are those that affect brain development under normal circumstances. In addition, exposure to heavy metals or certain chemicals, smoking, alcohol, or drug use during pregnancy, and rare illnesses such as meningitis or malaria, as well as head injuries, can negatively impact brain development.

The importance of healthy fats for brain development

You may have heard that 60% of the brain is made up of fat. This statement needs a bit of clarification. The brain does not contain fat cells, but much of the brain consists of supporting and insulating cells that surround nerve cells, and these cells are rich in fats, particularly in their membranes.

To support the rapid phase of brain growth, half of a baby’s daily calorie intake up to age 2 should come from healthy fats. In fact, 50% of the calories in breast milk come from fats, and this ratio should be maintained after introducing solid foods.

A child aged 1–2 needs about 1,000 calories per day, and 500 of these should come from fats, which equals about 56 grams of fat per day – roughly 4 full tablespoons of olive oil. Of course, this is just an example; fats should come from a variety of sources such as avocado, yogurt, eggs, and meat. Also, young children need both unsaturated and saturated fats, and they do not suffer from issues like high cholesterol.

Sources of healthy fat

Avocado
Organic cold-pressed olive oil (in dark glass bottles)
Organic cold-pressed coconut oil
Fish (except bottom-dwelling species)
Natural seed oils (hazelnut, walnut, flaxseed)
Chia seeds
Homemade full-fat yogurt from natural milk
Free-range organic eggs
Butter from grass-fed animals
Naturally raised lamb, beef, chicken, or liver
Natural clotted cream
Organic coconut milk

Sources of unhealthy fats

Margarine
Fried/refined/hot-pressed oils
Corn, canola, and soybean oils
Palm, cottonseed, and palm kernel oils (used in packaged snacks, crackers, chips)
Hydrogenated oils (found in processed foods, mayonnaise)
Mass-produced meats, especially chicken and beef

Oily fish that are not bottom dwellers are the best sources of omega-3, as they contain the types of omega-3 the body needs – DHA and EPA. Cold-pressed olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnuts, and chia seeds are also rich in omega-3, but they contain ALA, a type of omega-3 that the body converts to DHA and EPA only in small amounts.

During my pregnancy, my doctor told me:

“If you don’t want to spend money on private tutoring for your child in the future, eat plenty of fish now.”

So, I ate fish twice a week. I also consumed avocado, homemade yogurt, cold-pressed olive oil, and eggs every day during pregnancy, and I made sure my baby ate them daily once we started solid foods.

Tips for eating fish

Always make sure the fish is completely free of bones before giving it to your child.
Be cautious about heavy metals and avoid bottom-dwelling fish, especially from seas like the Marmara.
Remember that frying destroys healthy fatty acids.
Avoid using aluminum foil or Teflon, as these can release harmful chemicals into the fish.
The healthiest and simplest way to cook fish is to roast them whole in a glass dish with olive oil and salt, covered with a lid to keep in the steam.
Grilling is also fairly healthy, though some fats may be lost.
When you roast fish, make sure to add some of the collected oils from the dish onto your child’s food—and have some yourself!

Protein, vitamins, and minerals

Research shows that adequate protein and preventing deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals are crucial for brain development. Deficiencies in the following nutrients can lead to impaired cognitive development. Below are their main food sources. You can grind nuts into powder and mix them into foods like yogurt for your baby.

Zinc: wheat germ, chickpeas, nuts, cocoa (dark chocolate)
Iodine: iodized salt, seaweed, seafood
Choline (B4): eggs, liver, peanuts
Iron: pumpkin seeds, liver, meat, grape molasses (using cast-iron cookware also helps)
Vitamin B12: liver, meat, milk (see: Vitamin B12 deficiency in babies)
Folic acid (B9): legumes, avocado, dark green vegetables

The relationship between breastfeeding and intelligence

A 2015 study from Brazil found that the longer babies were breastfed, the higher their IQ scores tended to be. However, many scientists pointed out that this may not be caused by breastfeeding itself, but by the fact that mothers who breastfeed longer are often more educated, attentive, and have higher IQs themselves.

Still, breastfeeding is extremely healthy and beneficial – especially for developing a baby’s immune system. You may want to check out my article on methods to increase milk supply to support longer breastfeeding.

It may be easier to compensate for the cognitive effects of not breastfeeding than for its immune-related effects – and both can be supported by healthy nutrition.

I hope this information has been helpful. Wishing you healthy little ones!

References:

The role of nutrition in children’s neurocognitive development, from pregnancy through childhood, Dr. Anett Nyaradi et al., https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607807/
Head, IQ, learning, nutrition and brain. Ivanovic DM. et al., Neuropsychologia, 2004. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15093150
Feed your baby fats, Dr. Angel, http://www.doctorangel.com/feed-your-baby-fats-and-other-tidbits/
Your Practical Guide to Omega-3 Benefits and Supplementation, Dr. Mercola, http://articles.mercola.com/omega-3.aspx
https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2015/mar/18/breastfeeding-raises-iq-worrying-questions
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/nutrition/Pages/Feeding-and-Nutrition-Your-One-Year-Old.aspx