Choline
BBRF Distinguished Investigator and Scientific Council member Dr. Robert Freedman and colleagues have been developing what they believe will be a simple and safe preventive strategy to reduce or prevent mental illness in children by supplementing the mother’s diet with choline, an essential nutrient, during and immediately following pregnancy. This strategy, their studies suggest, will lessen the risk and perhaps actually prevent some newborn children from developing schizophrenia—one of the great objectives in all medical research—by boosting inhibition in the fetal brain. Many women have levels of choline lower than that advised by doctors. Supplementation could substantially lower the risk or mental illness in the child, protecting not only against choline deficiency in pregnancy, but also the impact of first-trimester infection in the mother—another focus of BBRF-sponsored prevention research centered on dietary choline supplementation in the perinatal period.
We also encourage people to click on the video below to watch our recent webinar on Choline: A New Prenatal Supplement to Improve a Child’s Mental Health.
Read the latest research discoveries related to choline:
In Pregnant Women with COVID-19, Higher Choline Levels May Protect Fetal Brain Development
Higher Maternal Choline Levels in Pregnancy Had Protective Role in Infant Brain Development
Steps to Take Before, During, and After Pregnancy to Help Assure the Child’s Mental Health
Testing a Simple Strategy To Prevent Schizophrenia via Dietary Supplements
