Choline Increases Babies' Intelligence

One of the most profound choices a person can make is that of becoming a parent. While having a child is properly viewed as a joyous pursuit, it can also be fraught with great difficulties and unknowns. We all wish to pass on to our children every advantage we can - our genes, our health, our intellect and our morals.

Researchers have now found a way to improve brain function in baby rats and this may be applicable to baby humans too. When pregnant rats were fed choline (one of several "B" group vitamins) in what would be equivalent to the third trimester in humans, the newborn rats performed significantly better on memory tests than those whose mothers ate a normal amount of choline.

Furthermore, rats whose mothers were deprived of choline demonstrated a decrease in their ability to learn and remember information. Additional choline appeared to enhance the babies' brains' ability to pave the way for neurons to connect and allow electrical messages to flow more freely. This improved brain function persisted in the rats through to early adulthood.

Choline is a very important nutrient for producing neurotransmitters and "good" fats found in the brain's neurons.

The Take-Home Message

• Pregnant women should consider taking a supplement containing 1,500 - 3,000 mg of additional choline per day.
• This additional choline may help to improve brain development in your unborn child, resulting in lifelong increases in intelligence, memory and learning ability in your child.
• Good forms of supplemental choline include choline bitartrate, choline chloride and choline citrate.
• Choline is most effectively utilised when it is taken in divided doses after meals.
• Folic acid (a supplement used by many pregnant women) "spares" choline, helping more choline to reach the developing brain of the foetus. Vitamin B5 supplements also improve the ability of choline to improve brain function.

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