Article Index > Health Concerns > Children's Health

Doctors in one study wanted to see if mothers’ zinc levels affected the health of their children’s nervous systems, and said that heart function is linked to nervous-system health.

Researchers tested the heartbeat patterns in 165 children, aged 4.5 years, whose nutrient-deficient mothers had taken iron and folic acid with or without 25 mg of zinc per day while pregnant.

Children whose moms had taken zinc had slower heart rate, and more balanced and controlled heart responses at rest and under stress than children whose moms hadn’t taken zinc.

Reference: Journal of Nutrition; 2011, Vol. 141, No. 2, 327-32

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