Professor Jens Lykkesfeldt
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New
research at LIFE – Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen
shows that vitamin C deficiency may impair the mental development of
new-born babies.
In
the latest issue of the well-known scientific journal The American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a group of researchers headed by professor Jens Lykkesfeldt shows
that guinea pigs subjected to moderate vitamin C deficiency have 30 per
cent less hippocampal neurones and markedly worse spatial memory than
guinea pigs given a normal diet. Like guinea pigs, human beings are
dependent on getting vitamin C through their diet, and Jens Lykkesfeldt
therefore speculate that vitamin C deficiency in pregnant and
breast-feeding women may also lead to impaired development in foetuses
and new-born babies.
The brain retains vitamin C
Several
factors indicate that the neonatal brain, in contrast to other tissue,
is particularly vulnerable to even a slight lowering of the vitamin C
level. The highest concentration of vitamin C is found in the neurons
of the brain and in case of a low intake of vitamin C, the remaining
vitamin is retained in the brain to secure this organ. The vitamin thus
seems to be quite important to brain activity. Tests have shown that
mouse foetuses that were not able to transport vitamin C develop severe
brain damage. Brain damage which resembles the ones found in premature
babies and which are linked to learning and cognitive disabilities
later in life.
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Vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, is essential for a number of
bodily functions. In the adrenal glands, vitamin C is required for the
production of the hormone adrenaline which the body uses in stress
situations and for physical activities. Vitamin C is also necessary to
form the protein collagen which is an important constituent part of
sinews, gum, cartilage and bones. Vitamin C is also vital to the immune
system. Humans and guinea pigs are among the few mammals that cannot
produce vitamin C themselves but are entirely dependent on having it
supplied through their diet.
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Widespread vitamin C deficiency
In
some areas in the world, vitamin C deficiency is very common –
population studies in Brazil and Mexico have shown that 30 to 40 per
cent of the pregnant women have too low levels of vitamin C, and the
low level is also found in their foetuses and new-born babies. It is
not yet known to what extent new-born babies in Denmark or the Western
World suffer from vitamin C deficiency but a conservative estimate
would be 5 to 10 per cent based on the occurrence among adults.
“We
may thus be witnessing that children get learning disabilities because
they have not gotten enough vitamin C in their early life. This is
unbearable when it would be so easy to prevent this deficiency by
giving a vitamin supplement to high-risk pregnant women and new
mothers" says Jens Lykkesfeldt whose research group is currently
studying how early in pregnancy vitamin C deficiency affects the
embryonic development of guinea pigs and whether the damage may be
reversed after birth.
Original article:
Pernille Tveden-Nyborg,
Louise Kruse Johansen,
Zindy Raida,
Charlotte Krogh Villumsen,
Jytte Overgaard Larsen and
Jens Lykkesfeldt. (2009). Vitamin C deficiency in early postnatal life impairs spatial memory and reduces the number of hippocampal neurons in guinea pigs. Am J Clin Nutr (July 29, 2009). doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27954
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