Mummies, are you aware that what you feed your child affects how their brain develops? Many think it is about how their brains are stimulated, but it is more than that. You may exercise your child’s brain by engaging them in memory games, playing pretend and sending them to brain juice-generating classes—however, you may be just one component shy of boosting their brain power during one of the most critical brain development years of their life.
Before we tell you how to furnish your child with the best brain-inducing ingredients, you must first understand what occurs in a child’s brain.
How Brain Cell Connections Work
The brain is predominantly made up of neurons (brain cells) that connect with each other by transmitting messages to and from different parts of the brain—much like how radios work. A message will pass from one to the next when it transmits an impulse through its nerve fibres, also known as axons.
Now, when you first get a radio, you need to tune it into the correct frequency before getting any transmission signal, right?
A toddler’s brain is similar.
Each of us have ~100 billion brain cells, but not all are connected (Ozar, 2012). When we say ‘brain development, it actually also includes connecting these brain cells together so that messages pass quickly from one to the next.
A toddler’s brain sparks more than one million connections every second. Brain cell connections continue to be built and formed throughout childhood for memory and learning to happen. By age of three, 1,000 trillion brain cell connections have formed and it is two times more than brain cell connections in adults. The stronger and more brain cell connections are, the faster learning happens and memory forms.
Introducing Gangliosides (GA®)
Gangliosides are a communication tool between the synapses (the communicating junction between brain cells). They aid the development and stabilisation of the neuronal circuits and connections that are the basis for improved memory and learning (Palmano, Rowan, McJarrow et al., 2015).
Imagine this, a brain without a ganglioside booster is like a landline telephone—there is still communication, just not as efficient. With sufficient gangliosides in the brain to support the communication between the neurons, it feels like you are using a smartphone to communicate with others—it is much better!
Central Nervous System
Gangliosides are essential for the maturation and maintenance of the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain and the spinal cord. They are like traffic lights, allowing some processes to happen and stopping others (Sipione, Monyror, Galleguillos, et al., 2020).
The CNS, which regulates intricate functions like movement, cognition and memory, is hence regarded as the body’s powerhouse (Sipione, Monyror, Galleguillos, et al., 2020). Additionally, it is crucial for bodily functions like breathing, blushing and blinking that occur automatically. The CNS impacts your thoughts, memory, learning, and emotions.
Gangliosides (GA®) act like a bodyguard to allow what is needed into the cell. They do this by modulating the actions of plasma membrane proteins and molecular recognition at the cell surface. This is super important because it can recognise pathogens (in a broad sense) and close its doors on microbial pathogens and toxins because it is proficient in cell-to-cell recognition (Lopez & Schnaar, 2009).
Better Memory
Another important thing about Gangliosides (GA®) is it improves memory storage. We must remember that memory may not be tangible to us, but in the brain, it comes down to interactions between brain gangliosides, calcium and functional membrane proteins. These small molecules play an important modulatory role as they transmit and store memory information (Palmano, Rowan, McJarrow et al., 2015).
Scientists have been longing to find out what molecules actually store memories, and they are inching closer and closer to the answer as I write—but let’s talk about what they know now.
Brain cells, as we established earlier, are constantly communicating with one another via synapses. Therefore, the strengthening of these connections is one of the hallmarks of memory formation. (Hernandez, 2017).
Better Behaviour
As the world slowly opens up again, children have to play catch up on their IQ, EQ and SQ. And one of the most crucial ways is to supplement them with Gangliosides (GA®). We know that DHA is famed for brain development, but Gangliosides (GA®) are just as important!
According to research on healthy children to evaluate behavioural regulation of a four-month daily intake of 200ml of milk with enrichment of Milk Fat Globule Membrane, a good source of gangliosides, they found that it leads to improved behavioural regulation, according to per-protocol analysis (Veereman-Wauters, Staelens, Rombaut, et al., 2012).
When preschool children can regulate their emotions and behaviour better, their minds are more conducive to absorbing information taught to them by their teachers. This leads to better early literacy, vocabulary and math skills. That is a leap ahead in their academics.
A Future for Gangliosides (GA®)
Brain cell connections continue to be built and formed throughout childhood for memory and learning. From age one to six years old, a child learns and sharpens their motor skills and emotional and social development.
In line with this, Anmum
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References
Hernandez, A. R. (2019, August 14). Can we understand memories at the molecular level? Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Retrieved August 11, 2022, from https://www.cshl.edu/labdish/can-we-understand-memories-at-the-molecular-level/
Lopez, P. H. H., & Schnaar, R. L. (2009, October). Gangliosides in cell recognition and membrane protein regulation. Current opinion in structural biology. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763983/
Nyaradi, A., Li, J., Hickling, S., Foster, J., & Oddy, W. H. (2013, March 26). The role of nutrition in children’s neurocognitive development, from pregnancy through childhood. Frontiers in human neuroscience. Retrieved August 22, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607807/
Palmano, K., Rowan, A., Guillermo, R., Guan, J., & McJarrow, P. (2015, May 22). The role of gangliosides in Neurodevelopment. Nutrients. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4446785/?report=reader
Schnaar, R. L. (2010, May 3). Brain gangliosides in axon-myelin stability and axon regeneration. FEBS letters. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2856809/
Sipione, S., Monyror, J., Galleguillos, D., Steinberg, N., & Kadam, V. (2020, October 6). Gangliosides in the brain: Physiology, pathophysiology and therapeutic applications. Frontiers. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.572965/full
Veereman-Wauters, G., Staelens, S., Rombaut, R., Dewettinck, K., Deboutte, D., Brummer, R.-J., Boone, M., & Le Ruyet, P. (2012, July). Milk fat globule membrane (INPULSE) enriched formula milk decreases febrile episodes and may improve behavioral regulation in young children. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). Retrieved August 11, 2022, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22305534/
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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