Getting More of these Two Nutrients While Pregnant Makes Smarter Babies!

New research suggests that simply getting more of these two nutrients while pregnant means giving birth to smarter babies!

Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenes that concentrates abundantly in the brain. When pregnant, there is a high transfer rate of lutein from the mother to the fetus. Since higher levels of lutein are associated with higher cognitive performance in adults, what would happen if mothers got more lutein and zeaxanthin while pregnant?

That’s what this study of 76 pregnant women set out to see.

It found that greater intake of lutein and zeaxanthin by mothers during pregnancy was associated with significantly better cognition and language scores in the children when they were two years old.

This study importantly adds to the evidence of a huge 2021 study that found that greater intake of lutein and zeaxanthin by mothers while pregnant led to higher verbal intelligence scores as well as greater behaviour regulation in mid-childhood (J Nutr. 2021 Mar 11;151(3):615-627). The brain undergoes its most rapid development early in life, and the new study adds evidence that lutein and zeaxanthin benefit brain development even earlier in life.

Nutrients. 2024 Jan;16(2):328.

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