The Right Food for Thought

We all have our ‘off’ moments when we do not appear as clever as we might prefer. The common excuses we usually turn to – lack of sleep, a few too many glasses of wine the night before, too much to think about, etc. – are not without merit, but what if you looked at what you were eating as the cause of your mental malfunctions?

Of course, this concept is hardly a new breakthrough in medical science, as there are a host of books addressing the topic – although, it must be noted, many are of varying degrees of accuracy. Various studies have shown distinct connections between poor cognitive performance and poor diet. The results of a recent study at Cambridge University, which was published in the FASEB Journal, showed that lab rats fed on a diet high in fat for ten days were not only unable to compete with others in physical exercises, but displayed a significant loss of mental acuity when tracing food in a maze puzzle.

The Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine conducted a study in 2009, which showed that obese individuals had a significant reduction of the frontal, temporal and subcortical areas of the brain as compared with subjects of standard weight. However, the participants in this study did not undergo any tests to measure the effects of these reductions, so it is unclear whether they there was a permanent reduction in cognitive ability.

That noted, these results do not imply that it is only fatty foods that cause cognitive inconsistencies, as other studies have shown that those who at the opposite extremes actually perform worse when with respect to logic and reasoning abilities. A 2002 study conducted by the Division of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry in London showed that anorexia sufferers had a poorer performance of the frontal cortex as compared with participants who did not suffer from this eating disorder. The subjects were given a “set-shifting” test (the “Wisconsin Card Sort”) in which they had to arrange the cards by pattern, but were noticeably slower than individuals of average weight.

At the Institute of Food Research in Reading, UK, a research team found that dieting females to possess lower cognitive acuity as compared with their abilities when not dieting. This finding might indicate two possible causes: the subjects may have had a temporary loss of mental ability due to the sudden drop of nutrients in the body; or the pervasive thoughts about food might have interfered with their logic performance.

These results indicate that, yet again, it is a balanced diet that is the key to success. Not only will consuming the right balance of nutrients help to promote physical well-being, but it will also do wonders for your mental fitness.

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