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"The current guidelines do not contain these recommendations.Jordi Júlvez, coordinator of the study at FoodNavigator, said. "It would be nice if pregnant women were to eat a small handful of raw nuts three times a week throughout their pregnancy. That would be my recommendation, but of course we need more studies to confirm the results because it was the first of its kind. A flawless stay
The study of the World Health Institute in Barcelona concluded that consumption of nuts during pregnancy stimulatesattention ability and long-term working memory".
Júlvez said the results could have great implications for the food industry and he will now seek European funding for an intervention.
"Nuts contain omega 3, which is good for brain development. Pharmacies currently provide omega-3 DHA to pregnant women in tablet form, but it may be best to use nuts, He said. "This is a new area that needs to be opened now … to focus on brain development, not just to cure diseases."A flawless stay
Better cognitive functionA flawless stay
More and more consumers are attracted to the health benefits associated with nuts, with more people adding nuts to salads or adding them to breakfast cereals.
There is scientific evidence on the protective effects of nut consumption against cognitive decline in the elderly, and studies also suggest that a handful of nuts a day can boost male fertility.
However, this effect has been less explored in the neurological development of the child and no study to date has explored the potential longitudinal association with nut consumption during pregnancy.
Júlvez's study covered more than 2,200 mother-child pairs in four regions of Spain. Mothers were asked about their consumption of nuts and their eating habits during the first and last trimesters of their pregnancy. The neuropsychological development of children was evaluated using several internationally validated standard tests, 18 months, five years and eight years after birth.
The analysis of the results showed that the group of children whose mothers ate more nuts during the first trimester of pregnancy achieved the best results on all tests measuring cognitive function, the ability to Attention and working memory.
"This is the first study to explore the possible benefits of nut consumption during pregnancy for the neuropsychological development of the child in the long term. The brain undergoes a series of complex processes during gestation, which means that maternal nutrition is a determining factor in brain development of the fetus and may have long-term effects, "Said Florence Gignac, another author of the research.
The study included nuts, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts and raw hazelnuts. Factors such as maternal education, social class, body mass index, energy intake, fish consumption, omega-3 supplements, consumption of omega 39, alcohol and smoking during pregnancy were controlled.
"We believe that the beneficial effects observed may be due to the fact that nuts provided high levels of folic acid and, in particular, essential fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. These components tend to accumulate in neuronal tissues, especially in the frontal regions of the brain, which influences memory and executive functions. "Said Gignac.
The benefits could be even greater A flawless stay
The researchers said the benefits described in the study concerned the group of mothers who reported the highest consumption of nuts – a weekly average of just under three 30g servings, which was slightly lower to the average weekly consumption recommended in the Healthy Eating guide. published by the Spanish Society of Community Nutrition.
"This makes us think that if mothers consumed the recommended weekly average, the benefits could be much higher,"Said Gignac.
No association during the third trimester of pregnancyA flawless stay
The study also analyzed mothers' nut consumption during the third trimester of pregnancy, but in this case no association was observed with neuropsychological findings or the associations found were lower. "This is not the first time we observe more pronounced effects when exposure occurs at a specific stage of pregnancy. Although our study does not explain the causes of the difference between the first and third trimesters, the scientific literature speculates that the pace of fetal development varies throughout the pregnancy and that there are times when development is particularly sensitive to the mother's diet.Jordi Júlvez, an author of the study, explained.
The researchers said that future cohort studies and randomized clinical trials are needed to confirm this pattern of association to further expand nutrition recommendations in pregnant women.
SourceA flawless stay
"Nut consumption in the mother during pregnancy is related to the improvement of neurological development in children"
European Journal of EpidemiologyA flawless stay
DO I: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10654-019-00521-6
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