1. Nutrition and Brain Development
Jessica Bates
Winter Quarter 2012
Current Issues In The Brain

2. The Brain
• Extremely complex organ responsible for
millions of connections we make.
• Your brain controls responses and how we
function physically and emotionally:
– Minor, major, voluntary, involuntary responses
– Emotions and Cognition
– Personality
– Motor Skills

3. Feeding Your brain
• The human requires essential vitamins and
minerals which can be found in a variety of
fruits, vegetables, cereals and other foods high in
nutrition.
• Without these aspects of food, our brain and
body would not function and grow properly for
one to maintain a normal and healthy lifestyle.
– No single food and/or supplement can properly
sustain the brain or body
• It must be properly fueled by life’s ingredients to
operate at it’s fullest potential.

4. Glucose
• Glucose (sugar) – Fuel for our brain; what our
brain primarily runs on.
– All foods eventually break down into glucose for our
hungry brain cells.
• Enables brain proteins to build cells.
• Needed to keep brain cells alive and functioning. Transforms
• Glucose can’t be accumulated, so a readily available source
of this chemical energy is extremely important.
• Manufactures and transports the molecules of
neurotransmitters and enzymes.
• Glucose is most abundant in starches and sugars and is easily
broken down from these items. Our brain really only uses
one type of carbohydrate.

5. Amino Acids
• Are building blocks of proteins; an organic compound
– Dietary proteins are from complete proteins:
• Fish, meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt
– Incomplete:
• Grains, seeds, and nuts
– Your body breaks down dietary proteins into amino acids
to configure different proteins needed for functioning:
• Neurotransmitters
• Chromosomes
• Hormones
• Enzymes

6. Vitamins
• Vitamin A: Meat, eggs, orange and green leafy vegetables.
– Deficiency can cause headaches
– Is needed to effectively development proper eye function which stems
from the brain.
• Vitamin B12: Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and other milk products.
– Deficiency leads to fatigue, depression, poor memory, anemia, and in
some cases severe and irreversible damage to brain and nervous
system.
– Needed for formation of new blood cells.
– Needed to maintain outer myelin sheath of nerve cells. Lack of myelin
can result in nerve damage and ultimately damage brain function.
• Vitamin D: Different types of fish are a good source.
– Deficiency is related to increased risk of the acceleration of cognitive
decline.
• Slower processing
– Activates and deactivates enzymes in the brain.

7. Vitamins cont.
• Vitamin E: Green leafy vegetables, plant oils, fortified breakfast cereals.
– Deficiency leads to dizziness, muscle weakness, sensory changes and overall
nerve damage.
– Important antioxidant: Protects our tissues from destructive free radicals.
– Fat-soluble vitamin
• Folic Acid: Green vegetables like peas, broccoli, asparagus. Also
yeast, wheat, and some nuts.
– Deficiency can lead to a range of mental disorders.
– Metabolizes protein and some amino acids
– Needed to produce red blood cells and DNA
• Magnesium: Green vegetables and unrefined grains.
– Nerve and muscle functioning
– Converts blood sugar to energy
– Promotes synaptic plasticity in brain cells

8. Fats
• Two-thirds of the brain is composed of fat.
• Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)- Need in order to build brain cells. Flax
seeds, green leafy vegetables and cold water fish contain a sufficient
source.
– Linoleic acid (LA)- Omega-6 family of fatty acids
– Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA): Omega-3 family of fatty acids.
• Myelin- Made of 70% fat. Protects the brain by providing substance and
insulation for the cells.
– Your brain is always sending messages, without myelin, your messages would
end with that neuron.
– Myelination occurs from childhood through adolescence. Very important to
have the appropriate amount of fat to build the myelin.
• Membranes- working surface of your brain is made from fatty acids.
– Fat is broken into fatty acid molecules, which are raw materials made to
assemble the special types of fat it incorporates into its cell membranes.
– Oxygen, glucose, and micronutrients pass through the cell membranes

9. Fats cont.
• Avoid
– Saturated Fat
• Too much can hinder brain function
– Trans Fat
• Trans fat takes the place of healthy fat in myelin
• Causes decreased brain function

10. Antioxidants
• Green leafy vegetables, eggs, brown rice, and whole
grains.
• Defenders
– Against reactive forms of oxygen: Free radicals.
• Cause oxidation, “A biological form of rust”.
– Can play a role in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, rheumatoid
arthritis, Parkinson’s and more.
• Includes lycopene, carotene and lutien.
– Shield brain from quick cell damage.
More Information on antioxidants.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQphqLfpG0A

11. Malnutrition and the Brain
• Avoid or limit brain drainers.
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be caused
by:
– Starvation/skipping meals
– Poor diet/over eating
– Poor absorption of vitamins and minerals
– Damage to the digestive system
– Infection
– Alcoholism
– Nicotine

12. Children Need Proper Nutrition
• Children who are malnourished don’t grow and develop at the
normal rate of development.
– Infants require a quality nutrition so that their brain and body develop
correctly.
• Breast milk offers the best mix of nutrients to help the brain grow
– Brains don’t grow to fullest potential.
• Reduced dendritic growth, myelination, and glia.
– Lasting behavioral and cognitive issues.
– Slower Language and fine motor skill development.

13. Bibliography
• Krebs, Charles T. Nutrition for the Brain: Feeding Your Brain for Optimum Performance. Melbourne:
Michelle Anderson, 2006. Print.
• I used this book for the majority of my research. The book helped to reiterate the importance of
nutrition to promote proper brain development. I learned a lot about all of the nutrients our brain
and body need so that from birth to adulthood, our brain is being nourished to reach our fullest
potential of development.
•
• Rosales, Francisco J., and Steven H. Zeisel. "Perspectives from the Symposium: The Role of Nutrition
in Infant and Toddler Brain and Behavioral Developmen." Ebsco. WWU, 1 June 2008. Web. 1 Feb.
2012.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2dd481fc-
61e0-45e8-955b-b72e4ef6a895%40sessionmgr12&vid=2&hid=122>.
• This article helped my research to explain more of the role that nutrition plays towards our brain. It
explained the process of how the nutrients are used very clearly.
•
• Benton, David. "Neurodevelopment and Neurodegeneration: Are There Critical Stages for
Nutritional Intervention?" Ebsco. WWU, 2 Nov. 2010. Web. 2 Feb. 2012.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6ede11eb-
e6f3-4c3f-a484-ad4ffef8c27e%40sessionmgr113&vid=2&hid=122>.
• This article helped my research in understanding the importance of nutrition for the brain and how
we need a constant source of nutrients throughout our whole life.