Childrens brain development

[Guest guest]

Wow there has been a lot of emails to read daily!!! Well I have another thought

that I may be able to get other's resources on..

The NT diet and preparing our foods correctly helps in disease and tooth decay

and everything else that can go wrong because of malnutrition. I was wondering

some about brain development and if anyone knows of research pointing to this.

Our schools have been dumbed down considerably. Even so, many children are

labeled learning disabled. I homeschool and agree with waiting until the child

is ready to read before teaching it, waiting until they are ready for math, etc.

After reading Endangered Minds, Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do

About It I really wondered about the health aspects of children's minds.

According to this book the myelination process in human brains is not complete

until we are in our twenties. At birth only the most primitive systems, such as

those needed for sucking, have been coated with myelin. According to their

research when we try to 'make' learning happen before the brain is ready to coat

that section required with myelin we may be creating a " functional organization

in which less adaptive, 'lower' systems are trained to do the work. " They

suggest that much of today's school failure results from academic expectations

for which students' brains were not prepared, but which were forced on them

anyway.

My children have been raised on full fat milk, and many organic items - not

always grass fed but at least tried to be raised on healthy soil meat and

veggies. Only the last three years have I learned about NT and changed my grain

preparation. They are young yet, but the first three have asked to be taught to

read about 3-4 years old. I do not think my children are any more bright than

what they should be, but I know that I was not expecting to be teaching phonics

to my 3-4 year old kids three times in a row, I was thinking most of them would

not be ready until at least 6 and then maybe even one of them a delayed learner

and waiting until 10 or 12. I still have one that is only two so maybe she will

be delayed... So what info is there for diet and myelin production in the brain

and advanced learners?

Grace,

a Augustine

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

--anonymous

[Guest guest]

I am curious about how you determine that a child is ready to learn? What

makes reading and math different than all the everyday stuff that they

learn? Some of what I had read though says that children actually learn

better and easier the younger they are.

Marcella

>From: " a Augustine " <professionalmommy@...>

>Reply-

>< >

>Subject: Childrens brain development

>Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 14:07:01 -0600

>

>Wow there has been a lot of emails to read daily!!! Well I have another

>thought that I may be able to get other's resources on..

>

>The NT diet and preparing our foods correctly helps in disease and tooth

>decay and everything else that can go wrong because of malnutrition. I was

>wondering some about brain development and if anyone knows of research

>pointing to this.

>

>Our schools have been dumbed down considerably. Even so, many children are

>labeled learning disabled. I homeschool and agree with waiting until the

>child is ready to read before teaching it, waiting until they are ready for

>math, etc. After reading Endangered Minds, Why Children Don't Think and

>What We Can Do About It I really wondered about the health aspects of

>children's minds. According to this book the myelination process in human

>brains is not complete until we are in our twenties. At birth only the most

>primitive systems, such as those needed for sucking, have been coated with

>myelin. According to their research when we try to 'make' learning happen

>before the brain is ready to coat that section required with myelin we may

>be creating a " functional organization in which less adaptive, 'lower'

>systems are trained to do the work. " They suggest that much of today's

>school failure results from academic expectations for which students'

>brains were not prepared, but which were forced on them anyway.

>

>My children have been raised on full fat milk, and many organic items - not

>always grass fed but at least tried to be raised on healthy soil meat and

>veggies. Only the last three years have I learned about NT and changed my

>grain preparation. They are young yet, but the first three have asked to be

>taught to read about 3-4 years old. I do not think my children are any

>more bright than what they should be, but I know that I was not expecting

>to be teaching phonics to my 3-4 year old kids three times in a row, I was

>thinking most of them would not be ready until at least 6 and then maybe

>even one of them a delayed learner and waiting until 10 or 12. I still have

>one that is only two so maybe she will be delayed... So what info is there

>for diet and myelin production in the brain and advanced learners?

>

>Grace,

>a Augustine

>

>I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

>I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

>I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

>I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much

>bigger.

>I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

>I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

>I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

>--anonymous

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

" a Augustine " <professionalmommy@y...> wrote:

> The NT diet and preparing our foods correctly helps in disease and

> tooth decay and everything else that can go wrong because of

> malnutrition. I was wondering some about brain development and

> if anyone knows of research pointing to this.

....

> So what info is there for diet and myelin production in the brain

> and advanced learners?

a,

I don't know anything about diet and specific myelin production, but

I do know a couple of things about general cognitive development and

diet.

Animal studies done with rats have consistently shown very large

improvements in learning, problem solving, and memory as well as

improvement in resistance to brain damage and senile dementia as a

result of dramatic increases in dietary choline. The studies gave

one group approximately 4x what they believe the normal dietary

intake is, another group received normal choline amounts as a

control, and a third group received a diet largely devoid of

choline. The test groups that were given restricted choline

experienced severely diminished performance in the areas mentioned

above as compared to the control group with normal dietary choline

levels.

This has yet to be born out in humans, but similar studies in humans

would be impossible to do for ethical reasons. In order to find

support for this in humans, they would likely need to do population

survey studies of new mothers and ask questions about diet. Such

studies will inevitably be inconclusive and significantly flawed.

Flawed because people do a poor job of recalling their diet, and some

pregnant women are probably going to intentionally misreport some

things (i.e. I had one serving [really pint] of ice cream.)

Furthermore, it's exceedingly unlikely that they will reach the level

of choline intake used in the animal studies through their normal

diets...unless they more or less lived exclusively on very choline-

rich foods.

I'm personally betting on choline being beneficial for human brain

development. Especially since the best sources for choline are liver

and eggs (and maybe brain) -- traditional pregnancy foods according

to price. Other foods that are significant sources are fish, nuts

and seeds, full fat dairy products, full fat meats, nutritional

yeast, and unrefined oils. Information on the choline content of

various foods is very scarce right now, but the USDA has just

commissioned Dr Zeisel at the University of North Carolina to conduct

a systematic assay of the choline content of a wide range of foods.

This is presumably for inclusion in the USDA Standard Reference on

nutrition. We'll probably see it start to show up in the USDA SR in

about 18-24 months; I contacted Dr Zeisel to see if it would be

available earlier as published research. He said that he'd like to

but isn't sure if the USDA will allow that.

Another factor that is less clear but better supported in humans is

Omega 3 and animal-based Omega 6 oils: specifically Docosahexanoic

Acid (DHA) and Arichidonic Acid (AA). I can't remember for sure, but

I think Eicosapentanoic Acid (EPA) may be a factor as well. It's

essentially moot since it pretty much always occurs naturally in

combination with DHA in foods. These nutrients are also much better

supported by the NT diet than by virtually any other. Animal fats

are a rich source of AA. Pastured or wild-game animal fats and fish

oils are rich sources of the other two.

It has been found archaeologically that the human brain's volume has

decreased by over 10% in the last 10,000 to 15,000 years after having

remained largely constant in volume throughout the balance of Homo

Sapiens existence prior to that time. That period of diminishing

cranial volume coincides exactly with the advent and spread of

agriculture and the consequent displacement of animal products by

cereals and pulses. More recently (the last couple hundred years)

many people have increased their animal fat intake slightly, but they

have also changed the composition of the animal fat through farming

techniques and possibly other factors such as genetics, environmental

toxins and diminished fodder value due to poor soil fertility. In

addition, the last century has ushered in dramatic increases in plant

based Omega 6 intake and hydrogenated fats, both of which appear to

interfere with uptake and use of Omega 3 fats.

Sorry for the novel, hopefully it was of some interest. I'm sure

this is old news to many of you...

Minneapolis

[Guest guest]

Thanks, I assumed fat has a lot to do with brain development, but did not know

about choline.

Grace,

a Augustine

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

--anonymous

[Guest guest]

>I am curious about how you determine that a child is ready to learn? >What

makes reading and math different than all the everyday stuff >that they learn?

Some of what I had read though says that children >actually learn better and

easier the younger they are.

Determination I would think is purely up to the parents. Just like you knew when

they were ready to potty train, or they were ready to get themselves dressed!

There is so much research out there about learning. I am sure none of it is

totally right and some of it is skewed just as health research is. The everyday

stuff they learn I know I notice in my children they learn different things at

different ages. My 8yo will have the same experience as my 4yo and they will

learn different things from it. They learn what they are ready to learn and

grasp in their minds, not always what we think they should! From what I have

learned language is important to focus on during the early ages. Math should not

be focused on much until age ten (textbook math not everyday math) Math is logic

and needs a higher level of thinking.

Yes children learn quickly. But I have also heard opposing sides to this. The

most famous area we have all heard about is foreign language. I have heard

adults actually catch on quicker than children with foreign language, adults

just will not be able to speak it properly and young children will. It has to do

with what part of the brain is developing. So some will suggest instead of

trying to teach a child a every language you can at an early age, simply let

them listen to native speakers in other languages and that part of the brain

that is developing will be able to use this information later if they do learn a

number of different languages. I am not sure if this answers your questions or

not...

Grace,

a Augustine

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

--anonymous

[Guest guest]

In response to:

> So what info is there for diet and myelin production in the brain

> and advanced learners?

I think the answer is no info available on these 3 variables (diet, myelin

and cognition). Clearly, there is a relationship between diet (essential

fatty acids, particularly DHA) and myelination of the neurons (myelin is

made from essential fatty acids). Myelination allows for faster

transmission of each neuron's electrical impulse. But, to correlate the

process and amount of myelination to developmental would nearly be

impossible b/c one does not have access to the brain tissue of a human to

analyze the myelin (also known as " white matter " ). Even if one could scan

for total brain myelin - I think the studies would be found inconclusive b/c

most researchers never control for diet.

It is known that damage to the myelin - whether inflicted in an animal for

research, or seen as a decrease in myelination in older persons, or

demyelination in Multiple Sclerosis - these types of damage to the myelin

sheath are correlated with cognitive impairments.

As far as the developmental process of myelination in humans - you mentioned

that it does not complete until 20 years of age - I'm not familiar with

this. I don't know, if you are really interested in this process, possibly

there have been animal studies that have tracked the developmental course of

myelination. On somewhat of a side note for the 20 years figure - I have

seen studies that have sought to replace lost DHA in adults - although I

think these effects were not found in the central nervous system, - only

found in the rest of the body and thought to be found in the peripheral

nervous system (spinal cord and nerves to the rest of the body).

On an even further side note - I have seen literature indicating delayed

myelination in SIDS babies.

Anyway, I find the subject and your question very interesting.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

A Teriffic book on this topic that is not too techical however chock

full of references is Magical Child by ph Chilton Pearce

DMM

--- In @y..., " Marcella Mathewes " <honoraholmes@h...>

wrote:

>

> I am curious about how you determine that a child is ready to

learn? What

> makes reading and math different than all the everyday stuff that

they

> learn? Some of what I had read though says that children actually

learn

> better and easier the younger they are.

>

> Marcella

>

> >From: " a Augustine " <professionalmommy@y...>

> >Reply- @y...

> >< @y...>

> >Subject: Childrens brain development

> >Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 14:07:01 -0600

> >

> >Wow there has been a lot of emails to read daily!!! Well I have

another

> >thought that I may be able to get other's resources on..

> >

> >The NT diet and preparing our foods correctly helps in disease and

tooth

> >decay and everything else that can go wrong because of

malnutrition. I was

> >wondering some about brain development and if anyone knows of

research

> >pointing to this.

> >

> >Our schools have been dumbed down considerably. Even so, many

children are

> >labeled learning disabled. I homeschool and agree with waiting

until the

> >child is ready to read before teaching it, waiting until they are

ready for

> >math, etc. After reading Endangered Minds, Why Children Don't

Think and

> >What We Can Do About It I really wondered about the health aspects

of

> >children's minds. According to this book the myelination process

in human

> >brains is not complete until we are in our twenties. At birth only

the most

> >primitive systems, such as those needed for sucking, have been

coated with

> >myelin. According to their research when we try to 'make' learning

happen

> >before the brain is ready to coat that section required with

myelin we may

> >be creating a " functional organization in which less

adaptive, 'lower'

> >systems are trained to do the work. " They suggest that much of

today's

> >school failure results from academic expectations for which

students'

> >brains were not prepared, but which were forced on them anyway.

> >

> >My children have been raised on full fat milk, and many organic

items - not

> >always grass fed but at least tried to be raised on healthy soil

meat and

> >veggies. Only the last three years have I learned about NT and

changed my

> >grain preparation. They are young yet, but the first three have

asked to be

> >taught to read about 3-4 years old. I do not think my children

are any

> >more bright than what they should be, but I know that I was not

expecting

> >to be teaching phonics to my 3-4 year old kids three times in a

row, I was

> >thinking most of them would not be ready until at least 6 and then

maybe

> >even one of them a delayed learner and waiting until 10 or 12. I

still have

> >one that is only two so maybe she will be delayed... So what info

is there

> >for diet and myelin production in the brain and advanced learners?

> >

> >Grace,

> >a Augustine

> >

> >I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

> >I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

> >I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

> >I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear

much

> >bigger.

> >I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

> >I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

> >I wish you enough ''Hello's " to get you through the final goodbye.

> >--anonymous

> >

> >

> >

> >