The Delicious Foods Linked To Higher IQ

Children’s brain are particularly sensitive early on — in the womb and through their first years of life.

Children’s brain are particularly sensitive early on — in the womb and through their first years of life.

Eating more fruit during pregnancy increases the cognitive skills of children, new research finds.

The study was inspired by previous resea rch finding that mothers who eat more fruit have smarter children, when measured at one-year-old.

Another study has found that children fed a healthier diet from an early age have a higher IQ, 

Children who were breastfed and later given plenty of fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods had IQs up to two points higher at age 8.

Children’s brain are particularly sensitive early on — in the womb and through their first years of life.

Junk food and ready-made baby meals have both been linked to lower IQs in children when they reach 8-years-old.

Meanwhile, a diet low in sugars, fats and processed foods consumed at a young age may increase intelligence.

Dr Claire Scavuzzo, study co-author, said:

“Our findings replicated what was found in humans and fruit flies.

In a controlled, isolated way we were able to confirm a role for prenatal fruit exposure on the cognitive development of newborns.

We see this as especially valuable information for pregnant mothers, as this offers a nonpharmacological, dietary intervention to boost infant brain development.”

The latest study was carried out on rats.

The results showed that pregnant rats fed fruit juice gave birth to babies with better memories.

Ms Rachel Ward-Flanagan, the study’s first author, said:

“Our results show that there is significant cognitive benefit for the offspring of mothers that ingest more fruit during pregnancy.”

Ms Ward-Flanagan continued:

“The idea that nutrition may also impact mental health and cognition has only recently started to gain traction.

People want to be able give their kids the best possible start in life, and from our findings, it seems that a diet enriched with fruit is a possible way to do so.”

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE (Ward-Flanagan et al., 2020).

The Surprising Age At Which Gratitude Emerges (M)

Gratitude requires someone to understand the gift and the actions of the person giving it.

Gratitude requires someone to understand the gift and the actions of the person giving it.


Sorry, this article is for paying members only.

Please find out more about accessing all PsyBlog articles.


Members can sign in below:

Liars Are Raised By Parents Who Do This (M)

This parenting technique makes children more manipulative and selfish.

This parenting technique makes children more manipulative and selfish.

People who were lied to by their parents go on to become liars themselves, new research finds.

Common lies parents tell like, “If you don’t behave, I’ll call the police,” might seem harmless, but they have long-term consequences.

People lied to more as children grow up to be more manipulative and selfish.

Dr Setoh Peipei, the study’s first author, said:

“Parenting by lying can seem to save time especially when the real reasons behind why parents want children to do something is complicated to explain.

When parents tell children that ‘honesty is the best policy’, but display dishonesty by lying, such behaviour can send conflicting messages to their children.

Parents’ dishonesty may eventually erode trust and promote dishonesty in children.”

The study included 379 young adults, who were asked how much they were lied to as children by their parents.

Typical lies included:

  • “If you don’t come with me now, I will leave you here by yourself.”
  • “I did not bring money with me today, we can come back another day.”

The results showed that people lied to as children were more likely to lie back to their parents.

People who were lied to more also experienced more guilt and shame as well as being more selfish and manipulative.

Dr Peipei said:

“Our research suggests that parenting by lying is a practice that has negative consequences for children when they grow up.

Parents should be aware of these potential downstream implications and consider alternatives to lying, such as acknowledging children’s feelings, giving information so children know what to expect, offering choices and problem-solving together, to elicit good behaviour from children.”

Those lied to more as children were at greater risk of aggression and rule-breaking.

This may result from undermining children’s well-being, Dr Peipei said:

“Authority assertion over children is a form of psychological intrusiveness, which may undermine children’s sense of autonomy and convey rejection, ultimately undermining children’s emotional well-being.”

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (Setoh et al., 2019).