Vitamin C and Brain Development

COPENHAGEN, DenmarkNew research at LIFE Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen shows that, based on animal research, vitamin C deficiency may impair the mental development of newborn babies.

For a study published in the The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a group of researchers showed 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 the researchers therefore speculate that vitamin C deficiency in pregnant and breast-feeding women may also lead to impaired development in fetuses and newborn babies.