Mustard – nutrition and stimulation

One of the questions that is raised in the developing world is, of course, sickness in very early period is dangerous. A lot of kids die from malnutrition, poor water supplies and infections. That is true. In countries, developing countries that have improved nutrition and provide safer water supply, you still don’t get optimum development. You only get optimum development if you provide optimum experience or stimulation and that has been classically done in the Jamaican studies. It’s interesting in the Jamaican studies, the effect is most prolonged is the actual improved experience stimulation part of the package, more so than the improved nutrition. Obviously nutrition and water supplies get you through the early years of life, that’s important. But if you get through that and you’ve had inadequate stimulation you will not get up to levels of performance that you would ideally like to be at. So, do them together. 

If you think about this, nutrition and water are important. They indirectly get under the skin because you ingest them and that goes through your body. But the experience that the brain receives during that same period is equally as important in terms of optimum development and so that you have to think in that integrated manner. So when you’re feeding an infant, breastfeeding it, you’re providing nutrition, but you’re also holding it you’re stimulating the brain development, you’re affecting attachment etc. So dealing with this integrated system is crucial, even in developed worlds, by the way, not just developing worlds.