If an expecting mother eats nuts during early pregnancy, it improves attention capacity and memory in children
A new study, published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, found beneficial links between a maternal diet rich in nuts and improved brain development in the child. The effects are particularly pronounced if the mother eats nuts during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Nuts are known to help reduce the risk of hypertension, oxidative stress and diabetes. They may also exercise a protective effect against cognitive decline in older age.
The study was carried out in Spain and included over 2,200 mother and child pairs. Information on maternal nut intake was obtained from questionnaires on eating habits, which the mothers completed during the first and last trimester of their pregnancy.
The children’s neuropsychological development was assessed using several internationally validated standard tests 18 months, 5 years, and 8 years after birth.
Analysis of the results showed that the group of children whose mothers ate more nuts during the first trimester of pregnancy obtained the best results in all the tests measuring cognitive function, attention capacity and working memory.
The benefits described in this study were observed in the group of mothers who reported the highest consumption of nuts – a weekly average of just under three 30g servings
“This is the first study to explore the possible benefits of eating nuts during pregnancy for the child’s neurodevelopment in the long term. The brain undergoes a series of complex processes during gestation and this means that maternal nutrition is a determining factor in fetal brain development and can have long-term effects, said Florence Gignac, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) researcher and first author of the study. “The nuts we took into account in this study were walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts and hazelnuts. We think that the beneficial effects observed might be due to the fact that the nuts provided high levels of folic acid and, in particular, essential fatty acids like omega-3 and omega-6. These components tend to accumulate in neural tissue, particularly in the frontal areas of the brain, which influence memory and executive functions.”
The benefits described in this study were observed in the group of mothers who reported the highest consumption of nuts – a weekly average of just under three 30g servings. This is slightly lower than the average weekly consumption recommended in the healthy eating guide published by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC: Guía de la alimentación saludable), which is between three and seven servings per week.
The study also showed that the mothers’ nut consumption during the third trimester of their pregnancy did not have any significant benefit. The researchers speculate that the rhythm of fetal development varies throughout the pregnancy and that there are periods when development is particularly sensitive to maternal diet, explained Jordi Júlvez, ISGlobal researcher and last author of the study.
