“An intelligence test sometimes shows a man how smart he would have been not to have taken it.” – Laurence J. Peter
Everyone wants their children to do well in school. In fact, I wish parents encouraged their kids with education as much as they do with sports. Practice starts before the school year, then there’s summer leagues, travel, etc. Imagine how smart our kids would be if we encouraged education year-round.
Well a new study from Britain has found that our diet can affect our intelligence. So not only can you say, “You are what you eat,” but “You can be smarter by eating smarter foods.”
The Oxford researchers found routinely low levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood of school-aged children between 7-9 years old.
The main components of Omega 3 fatty acids are Alpha-Linolenic Acid (ALA), Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA).
The study reported that because the long-chain Omega 3 DHA levels were low, and it is usually in abundance in the brain, it significantly predicted how well students were able to learn and concentrate in school.
Cool. We don’t make Omega 3 essential fatty acids in our body so we have to consume them.
Omega 3s are found in flax seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, avocado, Brazil nuts, dark, leafy vegetables, olive oil and fatty, wild-caught, cold-water fish like Alaskan salmon, mackerel, sardines and anchovies.
Omega 3s function to increase heart health, lower cancer and Alzheimer’s risk, reduce allergies, Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms and PMS symptoms, as well as, improve memory, mood, your eyes, skin, hair and brain function.
Concerning farm-raised fish, many believe they are unhealthy. The fish just hang out and don’t develop healthy meat from their lack of swimming against currents. Also they may not be fed chemically free grains. They end up with less protein, their meat is gray until colored, they have a higher fat content and contain unhealthy Omega 6 levels.
A 2004 study in Environmental Science and Technology reported higher levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) in farmed salmon than in wild salmon. PBDE cause reproductive toxicity and may also cause cancer.
Studies recommend we have a greater ratio of Omega 3:Omega 6, around 2:1 to 10:1, instead of 1:10 – 20 like we do. Consuming Omega 3 and Omega 6 in a healthy ratio can really help us fight disease and stay healthy.
The wrong ratio can lead to an inability to utilize the Omega 3 fatty acids ingested and cause symptoms such as depression, obesity, hyperactivity and violence.
In fact, a 2002 study in the British Journal of Psychiatry found prison violence dropped 37 percent just by supplementing inmates’ diets with Omega 3.
Prof. Paul Montgomery, who co-studied the Omega 3 levels in children stated, “From a sample of nearly 500 schoolchildren, we found that levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in the blood significantly predicted a child’s behavior and ability to learn. Higher levels of Omega-3 in the blood, and DHA in particular, were associated with better reading and memory, as well as with fewer behavior problems as rated by parents and teache
