Transcript Effects of Diet on Learning and Memory

Effects of Diet on Learning and
Memory
By
Jim Ward
“YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT,”
AREN’T YOU???
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• LIPIDS
- fats and oils
• CARBOHYDRATES
- sugars and starch
• PROTEINS
- made of amino acids
• NUCLEIC ACIDS
- made of nucleotides
What Do We Know?
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High Fat and Cholesterol = Heart Damage
Sugar Imbalance = Pancreas Malfunction
Low Folic Acid = Embryo Deformations
Low Calcium = Bone Loss
Alcohol = Liver Damage
Smoking = Lung Damage
??? = Brain Inefficiency and Memory Loss
Omega-6 Fat vs. Omega-3 Fat
Omega - 6 Fats
• in oils and dressing
• in pork and beef
• in processed foods
• in fried foods
BAD FOR BRAIN
• cause neurons to
become more rigid
Omega - 3 Fats
• in fish and seafood
• in nuts and legumes
• in green leafy plants
• in olive oils
GOOD FOR BRAIN
• cause neurons to
become more fluid
RATIOS OF OMEGA-6 FATS to
OMEGA-3 FATS
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Optimal ratio is 1:1
Brain Impairment occurs at ratios over 4:1
Average American diet is over 20:1
Asians have lowest ratios
Hispanics and African Americans have
highest ratios
Sodium vs. Potassium
SODIUM (Na)
POTASSIUM (K)
• in processed foods
• in table salt
• causes brain tissue and
blood vessels to become
more permeable
• high levels decreases
brain performance
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in fruits and veggies
in beans, nuts, milk
In some fish
counteracts high sodium
levels
• low ratios of sodium to
potassium increase brain
performance
What Does The Research Say?
• Benton (1991) - 6 year olds given
multivitamins for 6-8 weeks increased and
average of 7.6 points on intelligence tests
• Murphy (1998) - School aged children who
ate breakfast performed much higher in
math than those who skipped breakfast (also
had less behavior problems and absences)
What Does The Research Say?
• Greenwood (1996) - Rats fed varying diets
high in saturated fats showed cognitive
impairment in direct correlation to the
amount of fats consumed
• Connor (1996) - Rhesus monkeys fed low
amount of Omega-3 fats with high Omega-6
fats showed cognitive damage and vision
impairment
How Can Students Maximize Their Brain
Power Through Diet?
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Eat Breakfast
Consume healthier snacks (fruit not chips)
Decrease Intake of Saturated Fats
Decrease Omega-6 fat to Omega-3 fat Ratio
Decrease Sodium to Potassium Ratio
Take a Multivitamin (even Fish Oil)
If “You Are What You Eat,” Then
What Are You?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Benton, D. (1991). Vitamin and mineral supplements improve intelligence scores and
concentration of six-year old children. Personality and Individual Differences, 12 (11),
1151-1158.
Benton, D. (1990). Vitamin/mineral supplementation and intelligence. Lancet,
335(8698), 1158-1160.
Benton, D. (1988). Effect of vitamin and mineral supplementation on intelligence of a
sample of school children. Lancet, 1(8578), 140-143.
Eaton, S.B. (1996). An evolutionary perspective enhances understanding of human
nutritional requirements. Journal of Nutrition, 126, 1732-1740.
Greenwood, C. E. (1996). Cognitive impairment in rats fed high fat diets: A specific
effect of saturated fatty acid intake. Behavioral Neuroscience, 110(3),451-459.
Hibbeln, J. R. (1998). Fish consumption and major depression. Lancet, 351, 1213.
Murphy, J. M. (1998). The relationship of school breakfast to psychosocial and
academic functioning. Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine, 152(9), 899-907.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Schoenthaler, S.J. (1991). Controlled trial of vitamin-mineral supplementation on
intelligence and brain function. Personality and Individual Differences, 12(4), 343-350.
Schoenthaler, S.J. (1991). Controlled trial of vitamin-mineral supplementation: effects
on intelligence and performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 12(4), 351162.
Stephens, L.J. (1995). Essential fatty acid metabolism in boys with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62, 761-768.
Wainwright, P.E. (1998). A saturated fat diet during development alters dendritic growth
in mouse brain. Nutritional Neuroscience, 1, 49-58.
Yehuda, S. (1998). Fatty acids and brain peptides. Peptides, 19(2), 407-419.
Yudkin, John. (1991). Intelligence of children and vitamin-mineral supplements: the
DRF study. Discussion, conclusion and consequences. Personality and Individual
Differences, 12(4), 363-365.