Can pills make us brighter?
December 6, 2004
By Christine Doyle
Research suggests that daily supplements can alter
children's behaviour – but not everyone is convinced,
says Christine Doyle
A report, published last week, saying that young offenders
are to be given vitamin supplements in the hope of curbing
their anti-social behaviour and aggressive nature is
being greeted with scepticism by mainstream nutrition
specialists. The Youth Justice Board, with Home Office
approval, is helping to organise a trial with young
offenders.
On release, they will be given daily supplements of
fatty acids, minerals and vitamins. Their behaviour
will be tracked for several months to see whether there
has been any improvement. The study follows an American
analysis of children from Mauritius, which found they
were less likely to become delinquent if they were fed
an enriched diet from an early age.
"This is the latest in a long string of reports
attempting to link vitamin supplementation with behaviour
and improved IQ," says Tom Sanders, professor of
nutritional research and development at King's College
London. "None of the evidence in any of these studies
suggests that large-scale handing out of vitamin pills
will turn delinquents into little angels."
"Our concern with such research is that you cannot
expect a bottle of vitamin pills to wipe out social
deprivation or poor education," says Amanda Johnson
of the British Dietetic Association.
The report does, however, renew our fascination with
the way the foods we eat affect the brain. The idea
that we can eat to improve our mental, as well as physical,
health has taken root.
Supermarkets find that sales of "brain food",
such as oily fish and dark green, leafy vegetables,
go up when students are taking exams. Cod, tuna and
mackerel sales rise by 34 per cent during the summer
term in towns with large universities. Even broccoli,
asparagus and spinach grow in popularity, as do vitamin
supplements.
Johnson says it is sensible to take a multivitamin
combined with trace minerals if you are concerned your
diet may be deficient. However, the supplement should
contain only the recommended daily allowances of vitamins
and nutrients. She warns against taking mega-doses of
single supplements, as these might interfere with the
absorption of other nutrients.
However, neuroscientists still do not know exactly
how eating improves brain power or how a subtle shift
in one biochemical function might affect memory or mood.
We do know that brain cells communicate along neural
pathways. Neurotransmitters, which are made from amino
acids, carry information between brain cells.
Some researchers blame a lack of B vitamins for feeling
low and irritated. This could be, says the nutritionist
Lyndel Costain, because these vitamins help build the
neurotransmitters involved in thinking, staying alert
and feeling good. Acetylcholine, one of the chemical
messengers, is involved in memory and possibly behaviour.
People with Alzheimer's may have less or blocked acetylcholine.
Magnesium and vitamin C help to build up dopamine,
another transmitter and precursor of adrenaline. Serotonin
is made from building blocks in carbohydrate-rich foods,
such as pasta and cereals, and is involved in feelings
of pleasure, relaxation and sleep. Depression is linked
with low serotonin levels.
A carbohydrate-packed meal in the evening is more likely
than salad and fish to help insomniacs to drop off.
As the sleepy effects of carbohydrates last for several
hours, such meals are best avoided at lunchtime. If,
however, you feel low after lunch, it may be because
your blood sugar slumps.
"This is because insulin is suddenly produced
to deal with blood sugar and store it away," says
Sanders. "Your sugar level drops and so does energy,
leaving your brain and you feeling irritable, even aggressive.
Some people, especially women, are more insulin sensitive."
One way round this, he says, is to be more responsive
to what you are eating and to work out which foods suit
you best. He points out the importance for school-age
girls of getting enough iron in their diet. Studies
show that many girls are deficient, leading them to
become anaemic and tired, and fall behind in class.
Whatever you eat, say nutritionists, never miss breakfast.
This gets you off to a good start, with a dose of vitamins
and minerals that balances the messengers in the brain,
and provides the crucial boost in energy.
The truth is that very few of us are short of vitamins.
We should focus rather on breaking through the "brain
fog" that blunts concentration naturally. A good
night's sleep, a few days free of alcohol and a sharper
focus on what and when we eat can do wonders for our
wits and boost our zest for life.
Pills might help at times, but the best brain food
is a good meal. As Virginia Woolf put it: "One
cannot think well, love well or sleep well if one has
not dined well."
Brain foods: eat your way to success
Omega 3 essential fatty acids
Recommended Daily Amount (RDA): about 64 milligrams
(average UK intake is 100 to 200mg a week).
Benefits: optimum brain performance at all ages. Deficiency
is linked with depression and low mood, poor memory,
dyslexia, hyperactivity and a range of mental illnesses,
including schizophrenia, in extreme cases.
Food sources: just one 140g portion or two smaller
portions of oily fish provide a week's supply. Salmon,
sardines, trout, tuna, herring, mackerel and anchovies
are rich sources.
Folic acid
RDA: 200 micrograms (400 micrograms during pregnancy).
Benefits: essential for normal function of nervous
system and neural development in foetuses and young
children. Could help to prevent decline in cognitive
mental powers with age, though good evidence is lacking.
Lethargy is one sign of deficiency.
Food sources: a Marmite sandwich on wholegrain bread
should provide a day's supply. Cereals, whole grains
and dark green vegetables are good sources, too.
Vitamin B6
RDA: 2 milligrams.
Benefits: essential for the nervous system and healthy
red blood cells, which supply oxygen to the brain, among
other functions. Helps prevent irritability (including
pre-menstrual symptoms) and nervousness.
Food sources: a bowl of fortified cereal provides one
third of the daily allowance. Top up with brown rice,
brewer's yeast, nuts and seeds, bananas, white fish,
potatoes and baked beans.
Vitamin B12
RDA: 1 microgram.
Benefits: contributes to health of brain cells and
nervous system. Deficiency is linked, in some cases,
with heavy drinking, and leads to to exhaustion and
irritability.
Food sources: a bowl of forfified cereal contains three
quarters of the daily amount. Liver, fish, eggs, dairy
produce and molasses are good sources.
Iron
RDA: 8.7 mg for men; 14.8 mg for women.
Benefits: vital for healthy haemoglobin, the red pigment
in blood which carries oxygen to all the body's cells.
Prevents anaemia which can lead to tiredness, a lack
of concentration and listlessness.
Food sources: red meat is the richest source. It's
also in oily fish, the dark meat of chicken, some nuts
and dark green vegetables. A bowl of fortified cereal
or a meal of meat and three green vegetables contains
the daily allowance.
Water
RDA: 1.5 to two litres.
Benefits: boosts alertness and energy. Even mild dehydration
can cause headaches, a drop in concentration and a feeling
of tension.
Food sources: water, unsweetened juices, tea and soup.
Source:www.telegraph.co.uk
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