Voeding voor meer intelligentie*
Uit een studie met woestijnratten blijkt dat bepaalde voedingsstoffen bij deze ratten kunnen zorgen voor een betere intelligentie en betere cognitieve functies. In de studie kregen de ratten al dan niet als extra voeding een combinatie van
choline, uit o.m. eieren, uridine monofosfaat, uit o.m.
bietjes en DHA, uit o.m. visolie. Bij onderzoek van de hersenen van deze ratten vonden de wetenschappers duidelijke
aanwijzingen voor een verbeterde intelligentie en cognitieve functies. Verder onderzoek zal moeten aantonen dat dit ook voor mensen zal gelden en of deze voeding ook goed is bij
ziektes zoals Alzheimer en
Parkinson. In Europa worden op dit moment onderzoeken voorbereid.
Brain food - what we eat affects our intelligence
New research findings published online in The FASEB Journal provide more evidence that if we get smart about what we eat, our intelligence can improve. According to MIT scientists, dietary nutrients found in a wide range of foods from infant formula to eggs increase brain synapses and improve cognitive abilities.
"I hope human brains will, like those of experimental animals, respond to this kind of treatment by making more brain synapses and thus restoring cognitive abilities," said Richard Wurtman, MD, senior researcher on the project.
In the study, gerbils were given various combinations of three compounds needed for healthy brain membranes: choline, found in eggs; uridine monophosphate (UMP) found in beets; and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish oils. Other gerbils were given none of these to serve as a baseline. Then they were checked for cognitive changes four weeks later. The scientists found that the gerbils given choline with UMP and/or DHA showed cognitive improvements in tasks thought to be relevant to gerbils, such as navigating mazes. After these tests were concluded, the researchers dissected the mouse brains for a biological cause for the improvement. They found biochemical evidence that there was more than the usual amount of brain synapse activity, which was consistent with behaviors indicating higher intelligence.
"Now that we know how to make gerbils smarter," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "it's not too far a stretch to hope that people's intelligence can also be improved. Quite frankly, this can't happen soon enough, as every environmentalist, advocate of evolution and war opponent will attest."
"It may be possible to use this treatment to partially restore brain function in people with diseases that decrease the number of brain neurons, including, for example, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, strokes and brain injuries. Of course, such speculations have to be tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials," said Richard Wurtman, Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor of Neuropharmacology and senior author of a paper on the new work.
Such trials are now underway in Europe. A paper describing preliminary results has been submitted to the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease, to be held in Chicago
http://www.faseb.org/ (September
2008)
