Vitamin C deficiency means fewer neurons and a decrease in spatial memory, according to new research by Jens Lykkesfeldt from the University of Copenhagen\u2019s Faculty of Life Sciences (Life). This is according to Life’s website.<\/p>\n
The study, which is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that guinea pigs lacking in vitamin C have 30 per cent less hippocampal neurons and significantly worse spatial memory than their counterparts. <\/p>\n
Human beings, like guinea pigs, are among the few mammals that cannot produce vitamin C themselves, and are therefore dependent on a dietary intake. <\/p>\n
This leads Lykkesfeldt to speculate that vitamin C deficiency in pregnant and breast-feeding women may also lead to impaired development in foetuses and new-born babies. <\/p>\n
In some areas in the world, vitamin C deficiency is widespread; studies carried out in Brazil and Mexico have shown that 30 to 40 per cent of all pregnant women lack vitamin C, and that their foetuses and new-born babies also lack this vitamin.<\/p>\n
It is not yet known to what extent new-born babies in Denmark or the Western World lack vitamin C. A conservative estimate puts the occurrence at 5 to 10 per cent based on studies among adults. <\/p>\n
The researchers are currently studying how early in pregnancy vitamin C deficiency affects the development of guinea pigs, and whether the damage may be reversed after birth.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWe may be witnessing that children get learning disabilities because they have not gotten enough vitamin C in their early life. It would be so easy to prevent this deficiency by giving a vitamin supplement to high-risk pregnant women and new mothers\u00ab, says Jens Lykkesfeldt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Copenhagen research reveals link between vitamin deficiency in pregnancy and learning disabilities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25798","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n