Dairy Checkoff Focuses on Dairy's Link to Brain Health
USAgNet - 08/19/2024
The first 1,000 days of a baby's life - encompassing pregnancy through the child's second birthday - is a critical period for brain development. During this time, a baby's brain grows from about 10,000 brain cells in the first month of pregnancy to a staggering 10
billion by the sixth month.
Nutrition is a key driver of this incredible development and dairy can significantly impact a child's cognitive development and overall success in life, thanks to nutrients including iodine and choline.
Expecting mothers and new parents are seeking guidance on how to best nourish their child and lay the foundation for lifelong health, particularly regarding cognitive development. To address this, the dairy checkoff is launching several strategies to highlight
another benefit of dairy consumption.
Checkoff organizations Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), National Dairy Council (NDC), Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, U.S. Dairy Export Council, Newtrient, GENYOUth and the 16-team state and regional network are joined by MilkPEP to collectively
elevate awareness and understanding of dairy's contributions to the 1,000-day period.
"We identified a topic that's of pressing concern and interest among thought leader audiences and consumers and has very strong dairy science behind it," said Heather Oldani, head of marketing communications and affairs for DMI. "This is a collective effort that
has different avenues for individual organizations within the dairy community to participate. Everyone will add a drop into the bucket and those drops will create an ocean effect for a bigger awareness and impact in the marketplace."
