Nutrition is probably the most important factors in the development of the infant in both the womb and after birth. Malnutrition can result in a wide range of behavioral and learning disabilities. Intelligence is easily influenced by the quality of nutritional intake.
The nearer the period of malnutrition is to the time of most rapid growth the greater the potential damage to development of overall potential.
One study compared the IQ of undernourished children with that of children who had superior nutrition. The difference was a startling 22.6 IQ points in favor of the better nourished group.
Rats require about 121/2 micrograms of thiamine (Vitamin B1) a day. When Roger Williams fed them 3 micrograms a day their maze learning ability was below normal. When they received 100 micrograms a day their performance was supernormal. The profound effect resulted by altering only a single essential nutrient.
References:
Morgane, Peter J., et al, "Prenatal Malnutrition and Development of the Brain," Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 1993;17:91-128.
Williams, Roger, Nutrition Against Disease, New York: Pitman Publishing Company, 1971, 63-65.
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