Kids Diet - High fat equals low smart
Science continues to point out how our children's diet affects every aspect of their lives. The study I've attached below highlights yet another negative impact of the high fat and cholesterol / fast food diet too many of our kids consume. Published in the journal Appetite, this study looked at how dietary fat and cholesterol affected the cognitive flexibility (mental sharpness) of children 7 - 10 years of age. The results are alarming, if not shocking. The University of Illinois (USA) researchers looked at 150 otherwise healthy kids and found that higher total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol intake reduced mental accuracy and slowed reaction times needed to process simple questions or challenges. This is not the first study to connect the cognitive (and intellectual, emotional and social) capacities of children with diet and it won't be the last. It brings to mind that old adage that "you are what you eat!" . Bad diets do bad things! In this case they rob our kids...and likely everyone at any age...of their ability to reach their full cognitive potential. That's really sad. But if you turn that conclusion around, it also says that smart diets lead to smart people! So...now that you know...what are you going to do about it?
For those of you who are interested, here's the link to the study.