Margarine Consumption Connected to Lower IQ in Kids
A recent study focusing on dietary influences on IQ has concluded that children who eat margarine score significantly lower on intelligence tests than children who do not consume margarine. The study involved children born in the 1990s and included their dietary intake and intelligence scores.
Researchers found that children who eat margarine every day score three points lower on IQ tests by age three. By age seven, average IQ scores of margarine eaters was six points lower than non-margarine eating children. This IQ difference occurred only in children who were born underweight (which suggests that disadvantaged brains could be more vulnerable).
Researchers suspect that the culprit may be transfats (partially hydrogenated oils). Transfats have a longer shelf life and are solid at room temperature. Transfats increase the risk of heart attack and death.
