Breast milk is crucial for the baby as it contains essential nutrients, antibodies and proteins that strengthen the immune system, protecting against infections and allergies. Furthermore, it helps in the development of the nervous and digestive system, preventing future chronic diseases.
But in addition to the best-known benefits of breastfeeding, new studies have analyzed its relationship with the child’s cognitive development, which can result in a higher IQ in the future.
Intelligence is a profoundly multifactorial ability, that is, it is influenced by a series of factors, notably genetics, since genetic tests are currently the most reliable way of measuring IQ. But environmental factors can also be very important for this development, interacting with genetic influence throughout the process and among these factors during early childhood, breastfeeding is the most significant.
Children who are breastfed for the optimal amount of time have higher IQ scores than children who are not breastfed. This advantage can be attributed to the fatty acids present exclusively in breast milk, but it is also associated with the essential nutrients provided during this period and the relationship with the development of the child’s nervous system.
In a study called “Moderation of the effects of breastfeeding on IQ by genetic variation in fatty acid metabolism” and published in the scientific journal Journal of Pediatrics demonstrated a relationship between breastfeeding and a genetic variant called FADS2, which is related to genetic control of the pathways of fatty acids. The study identified an increase in the IQ of 5 ½-year-old children, who had been fed a formula supplemented with lactoferrin and MFGM, milk fat globule membrane, by up to 5 points, with greater emphasis on the speed of information processing and visual-spatial skills.
Nowadays, the average breastfeeding time for children is 12 months, half of which is done exclusively, but this time can vary in each case.
But it is important to emphasize that this is not a fixed relationship and a rule, it must be seen as an important factor, but which can also be influenced by other factors, even other genetic variants that can also influence this process.
REFERENCES:
MODERATION of breastfeeding effects on the IQ by genetic variation in fatty acid metabolism. PNAS, [S. l.], p. 1, 20 Jan. 2007. DOI https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.0704292104 . Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2141867/#:~:text=Breastfed%20children%20attain%20higher%20IQ,control%20of%20fatty%20acid%20pathways . Accessed on: 10 Jan. 2024.
IMPROVED neurodevelopmental outcomes at 5.5 years of age in children receiving bovine milk fat globule membrane and lactoferrin in infant formulas up to 12 months: a randomized, controlled clinical trial. The Journal of Pediatrics, [S. l.], p. 1, May 14, 2023. DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113483 . Available at: https://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(23)00331-1/fulltext . Accessed on: 10 Jan. 2024.
EFFECT modification of FADS2 polymorphisms on the association between breastfeeding and intelligence: results from a collaborative meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, [S. l.], p. 1, May 14, 2023. DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyy273 . Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30541029/ . Accessed on: 10 Jan. 2024.
About Dr. Fabiano de Abreu Agrela
Dr. Fabiano de Abreu Agrela has a Post PhD in Neuroscience and is a biologist who is a member of the main scientific societies such as SFN – Society for Neuroscience in the United States, Sigma XI, a scientific society where members must be invited and which has more than 200 Nobel Prizes and the RSB – Royal Society of Biology, largest biology society based in the United Kingdom. He is a member of 10 high IQ societies, including Mensa, Intertel, ISPE, Triple Nine Society, Intertel Brazil coordinator, international director of the IIS Society and president of ISI and ePiq society, all societies restricted to people with high IQ proven in tests supervised. He created the first genetic report that estimates IQ scores through DNA testing and the GIP project – Genetic Intelligence Project with genetic and psychological studies on high IQ with volunteers. Author of more than 50 studies on intelligence, he volunteered in supervised IQ tests, genetic intelligence tests and neuroimaging studies as he achieved the maximum score in more than one IQ test in more than one country, corroborating the other genetic results and of neuroimaging.
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