There is little doubt that taking a prenatal vitamin can make a difference in your child's life. A new study validates the importance of taking a prenatal vitamin for your child's cognitive development. The study found that failing to take a multivitamin during pregnancy could set a child back by a year by the time they reach secondary school.

The study, published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, was done by an international team including Harvard University, the University of California and the University of Lancaster. Researchers found that multivitamins can add the equivalent of up to a full year of school to a child's cognitive abilities between the ages of nine and 12. 

The study was carried out on almost 3,000 children in Indonesia aged between nine and 12, whose mothers had participated in an earlier study into the effects of supplements in pregnancy. Researchers said the finding is likely to be most relevant for women who do not get sufficient vitamins and minerals from their diets, although the findings are important for all pregnant women.

The multivitamins used in the study contained iron, folic acid, retinol, vitamin d, vitamin e, ascorbic acid, vitamin b, niacin, zinc, copper selenium and iodine.

The study also found that early life nurturing, happier mothers and educated parents all led to smarter children. A nurturing environment was found to be even more important than biological factors — such as good nutrition — for general intellectual ability, academic achievement and fine motor dexterity.

The children of mothers who took the supplements had better procedural memory equivalent to an additional half year of schooling. For mothers who had been anemic, which is a common problem in pregnancy, the effect was equivalent to one extra year of schooling.

Procedural memory is important for a child's academic performance and daily life and is tied to activities such as driving, typing, reading, arithmetic, reading, speaking and understanding language, as well as learning sequences, rules and categories.

Q and A

Q: Probiotic supplements with an enteric coating claim to be better. Does that mean probiotics in yogurt and kefir do not make it to the intestine?

A: While it is true that an enteric coating would protect the probiotic from acid killing in the digestive tract, if the probiotic is part of a food matrix such as yogurt, the buffering capacity of the yogurt or kefir would also act as an effective protector against stomach acid, according to Dr. Robert Russell, MD, emeritus professor at Tufts' Friedman School. It has been shown in many studies that probiotics in yogurt can survive the passage through the stomach and can be recovered not only form the small intestine but also from the colon. - Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter.

RECIPE

Walnuts are one of those foods you want to include as part of a healthy diet. Here's a recipe from Williams Sonoma, Healthy In a Hurry, that provides protein and nutrients without a lot of calories or carbs. Serve it over brown rice.

Walnut Chicken with Basil

1/2 cup walnut pieces

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons honey

3 teaspoon peanut oil

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

3 chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless

1/2 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until lightly browned and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Immediately pour onto a plate to cool. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, lime juice and honey. Set aside. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of oil in a wok over high heat. Add bell pepper and cook just until wilted, 1-2 minutes. Transfer bell pepper to a plate and add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add shallots and cook, stirring constantly, until just beginning to brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add chicken to pan with shallots and cook, stirring often, until opaque throughout, 3-4 minutes. Return bell pepper to pan and stir in soy-sauce mixture, basil, and walnuts. Toss and stir just until basil is wilted, about 1 minute longer. Serve over brown rice. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 310 calories, 26 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 16 g fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 530 mg sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian at Hy-Vee in Springfield, Ill., and the media representative for the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. For comments or questions, contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @Nutrition Rd. To find out more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.