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Is summer lowering your child's IQ?
Caution: while your kids are having fun in the sun, their brains may be at risk. Learn which summertime mind-melting hazards to avoid and get brain-boosting alternatives.
By Hank Pellissier
Eat wisely
Like many American parents, you may let dietary standards slide during the summer months. If so, keep in mind that a daily menu of junk food — soda, candy, and sugary or salty processed treats — can considerably decrease your child's IQ. In England, children ingesting an unhealthy diet averaged five IQ points lower than their more intelligently-fed peers. In India, students devouring foodstuffs full of artificial flavors, preservatives, and coloring lagged 14 percent behind their more organically-fed rivals, claims an article in the Hindustan Times. Minerals like iron and zinc are also essential. Indian researchers noted that children with anemia (iron deficiency) were burdened with significant developmental delay, and those with zinc deficiency have "memory deficits."
What you can do: Between occasional ice cream treats, feed them a regular diet of brain food, especially these four healthy staples kids love.To further bump up scholastic skills, serve your students an East Asian staple. A Japanese study of 290 children discovered that those who were fed wheat had an IQ four points lower than those whose main grain was rice. And if they demand a fun food, let them chew on gum (preferably sugarless), which stimulates their brain stems, according to Professor Lehrl. The chomping motion increases the flow of blood to their brain, elevating their attention level and ability to learn.
Next: Modern menaces »
