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GOOD nutrition is critical for all of one's life, and new research found that this begins in the womb, where fetal brain development is influenced by the diet of the mother to be, according to a report this month in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB).
Furthermore, choline, a nutrient that can be found in eggs and meat, plays a major role in fetal brain development, especially in regions of the brain associated with memory, the report says, suggesting that bacon and eggs should be part of a pregnant woman's diet.
The research was conducted by scientists at the University of North Carolina.
Dr. Steven Zeisel, the lead scientist in the work and a senior member of the FASEB Journal's editorial board, said the research indicated that choline controls the epigenetic switches that support brain development in the fetus and is, therefore, important in optimal brain development.
Zeisel and his team reached this conclusion in a feeding study of two groups of pregnant mice during the period of time when a fetus develops its hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory.
One group of mice was fed a diet that contained choline, and the other group was given no choline.
By capturing cells from the developing fetuses' brains and growing them in cell cultures, the scientists determined the expression of genes for two proteins that regulate neuronal cell creation and maturation. The two proteins were more prevalent in the mice that received choline, according to the study.
The emerging field of epigenetics "is making us rethink those things we consider healthful and unhealthful," and this research suggests that good prenatal nutrition "is vitally important" for all of a child's lifetime, noted Dr. Gerald Wessmann, FASEB Journal editor-in-chief.
More information on the work by Zeisel and his team is at www.fasebj.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/1/184.
The U.S. Agricultural Research Service's Nutrient Data Laboratory provides consumers with a means to estimate choline intake from more than 400 different foods and, based on expert findings, suggests that adequate choline intake is 425 mg per day for women and 550 mg for men. The leading choline sources are meat, eggs and nuts, according to the database. | 
