Vitamin A plays a vital role in building your child's immune system, with benefits that endure long after birth.
Faster illness onset
Researchers studying pregnant mice found that pups from vitamin A-deficient mothers fell ill more quickly.
Deficiency effects linger
Even when these pups received vitamin A-rich diets right after birth, their immune systems remained weaker than those whose mothers had sufficient intake during pregnancy.
Key insight
Vitamin A's importance for immunity is well-known, but this research underscores how a mother's prenatal diet directly influences her baby's immune development. This is particularly relevant in regions with widespread malnutrition.
Vitamin A sources
You'll find it in fruits, vegetables, fish, margarine, liver, and dairy. A balanced diet typically provides enough.
Avoid excess
Too much vitamin A during pregnancy can be harmful, so skip liver.
Source: Health Net | Image: Shutterstock
