A small handful of dried fruits three times a week. These health ingredients, or superfoods, also improve the neurological development of the unborn child when consumed early in pregnancy. This is the finding of a recent study conducted in Spain, published in ‘European Journal of Epidemiology‘.
Dried fruits, full of benefits
The benefits of eating nuts are well known. Of the many researches on the subject, it is enough to mention the 2016 meta-study of 29 scientific studies, according to which consumption of as little as 20 grams a day of nuts helps prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, mortality from all causes and especially those outcomes of respiratory diseases, diabetes and infections.
Many beneficial effects are also ‘transmitted’ during pregnancy, now concludes the study commissioned by theInstituto de Salud Carlos III, a ministerial body of the Iberian government, and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.
The research
The sample analyzed by the Spanish researchers consisted of 2,208 mother and child pairs, residing in four areas of Spain. Variables-such as schooling, social class, body mass index, energy intake, fish and Omega-3 supplement consumption, alcohol and smoking habits during pregnancy-were standardized.
The pregnant women reported their weekly consumption of dried fruits-nuts, almonds, peanuts, pine nuts, and hazelnuts-during the first and last trimesters of pregnancy. Following delivery, neuropsychological testing of the children began, repeated at birth and at 1.5, 5 and 8 years of age.
Children whose mothers had consumed more walnuts (more than 32 grams per week) during the first trimester of pregnancy showed better cognitive function, with increased attention span and memory capacity. Confirming how the interaction between fetal development and maternal diet varies throughout pregnancy, the same nut consumption in the last trimester of pregnancy produced lower results instead.
Notes
(1) Gignac, F., Romaguera, D., Fernández-Barrés, S. et al. (2019). ‘Maternal nut intake in pregnancy and child neuropsychological development up to 8 years old: a population-based cohort study in Spain’. European Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-019-00521-6
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
