The nutrition your child receives from infancy through his or her formative years is essential not only to building a strong body, but also to achieving optimal mental and intellectual ability as well as emotional health. This is why the way you feed your child is generally considered an important part of good parenting.



Recent advances in nutritional neuroscience show that particular nutrients have certain affects on the development of the human brain, which influence intelligence, mood, and behavior.

The brain of a human fetus grows rapidly from the 10th to 18th week of pregnancy. During this time the fetus develops thousands of brain cells, called neurons, every minute. Moreover, these neurons begin to develop into a system of interlocking connections, forming essentially a network of specialized nerve cells that can have long-term effects on the child's development. Therefore, it is important for the mother to eat nutritious foods during this time.

This process of rapid growth and development of the brain continues for about 2 years after birth. Just as a car needs fuel, proper nutrition during this important developmental stage is essential. As a matter of fact, malnutrition, or shortages of essential nutrients, during this period can have devastating effects on the nervous system and neurological development as well as physical growth.

Although the total number of neurons doesn't increase much beyond the age of two, the number of connections that take place between them continues to develop dramatically over time. When a baby is born, every neuron in the cerebral cortex ? the outermost layer of the brain ? can connect with about 2,500 other neurons. By the time the child reaches the age of two or three, that number has increased to 15,000.

The connections formed within a child's brain are vital to memory, cognition, and learning. These connections are the conduits along which the electrical impulses that make up our thoughts travel. During the most prominent learning years, children are literally hard-wiring the ways in which their brains work every minute.

For example, as very young children develop language skills repeating words again and again, they literally hard-wire the images they see in the world around them with the sounds they make. Every thought a young child has is represented by a 'ripple' of activity across the network of neurons within his or her brain. Repeated thoughts and actions, whether related to speech or movement, reinforce and strengthen neurological pathways. Moreover, as the child develops more advanced skills, like crawling and walking, the connections from infancy that are no longer needed weaken dramatically. Unlike other organs in the body, the brain is constantly renewing and restructuring itself.

The connections that form within the brain, called dendrites, are very important to a child's physical, mental, and emotional development. The places where one dendrite meets another are similar to the gaps in a spark plug. As dendrites bridge these gaps, synapses are created. In other words, as dendrites ?spark? across these gaps in synapses, messages are sent from one neuron to another. The way in which these synapses traffic information'a process called neurotransmission?within the brain is crucial to the healthy functioning of the body as well as the development of the intellect.

The parts of the brain that send and receive messages are made up of essential fats, such as those found in fish and seeds; the phospholipids present in eggs and organ meats; and amino acids, which make up the raw material of protein. The message itself, known as a neurotransmitter, is in most cases made up of amino acids. Different amino acids make different neurotransmitters. For example, the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps a child to feel happy, is made from tryptophan. Adrenalin and dopamine, which keep children motivated, are made from phenylalanine. However, turning an amino acid into a neurotransmitter is no simple task. Enzymes in the brain, which depend on vitamins, minerals, and special amino acids work to accomplish this task. These vitamins and minerals also control the steady supply of fuel? blood sugar or glucose?that powers each neuron. From all this, you can see how the food your children eat does more than build their bodies. It also helps to develop their brains, from the neurons themselves to the synapses that transmit information throughout the mind and body. Thus, food plays a vital role in determining how your children think and feel. Although the basic structure of your child's brain is determined by genetics, the nutrition they receive and what they learn helps develop that structure, and ultimately their intelligence and ability to learn. It also affects how they adapt, and whether they have happy and fulfilling lives. While you can't change genes, you can control your child's nutrition and learning environment. For this reason, one of your main tasks, as a parent, is to ensure that your child receives optimum nutrition and a stimulating environment that encourages his or her capacity for learning. In the context of the development of your child's brain, optimum nutrition is all about ensuring that your child gets sufficient quantities of five essential foods, while avoiding some others.