Welcome to COGNITION for Smart Kids and Teens. In the weeks that follow, starting now, we’re going to guide you and your child in taking simple steps to become a master of ‘methylation’ and optimise their B Vitamin status.
In simple terms, methylation is a vital function that is being performed something like a billion times every minute to keep your child’s brain and body in balance. It depends on B vitamins and other nutrients, and if levels are not quite right, then their blood level of homocysteine goes up.
What is Homocysteine?
✔ It’s a toxic amino acid that only accumulates if someone is not doing methylation properly.
✔ Good methylation means your child can make enough neurotransmitters (think adrenaline and serotonin) to keep them energised and in a good mood.
✔ There is evidence to suggest that not only children’s school grades could be predicted by their homocysteine and their blood B vitamin levels, but also, by a mother’s level during pregnancy.
✔ Homocysteine above 9mcmol/l during pregnancy, has been found to be a predictor of challenges in children at age 6, specifically withdrawn behaviour, anxiety, depression, social problems and aggressive behaviour. This is why pregnant women are advised to supplement folic acid.
Across the B Vitamins domain, we will guide you through all the B vitamins that are essential, both in pregnancy and childhood.
What you need to know
✔ Vitamin B6, folate and B12 are fundamental for doing methylation properly, so we’ll be talking about which foods contain these and if there is a need for supplementation. For some children the problem isn’t what they eat, but their ability to absorb vitamin B12. We will explore this also.
✔ Reducing your child’s ‘B vitamin’ domain score not only reduces their future risk for cognitive problems but also so many diseases that manifest later in life. There are over 100 diseases that are predicted by a high homocysteine.
✔ The great news is that there isn’t too much to change to be doing all the right things for methylation. But still it takes a few weeks to break old habits and set new ones, which is why this month’s changes, one step at a time, require discipline, but then quickly become your new habit.
How to Implement Change
Today’s Challenge: Your first learning is simply to understand what methylation is, why one’s homocysteine level is important to know, and what brings it down if raised. Observe your child’s meals today. Are they getting B vitamin-rich foods like eggs, fish, leafy greens, or whole grains? We will explore all these topics further over the following emails this month.
📌 Next email: Why Methylation Matters for Your Child’s Health