Babies Who Eat Healthy Foods Are Smarter By Age Eight Than Junk-Fed Peers

An Australian study of the dietary patterns of 7,000 infants and children up to eight years old found that those fed a healthy diet – e.g., legumes, cheese, fruit, vegetables – early in life had IQs at least two points higher at age eight than children fed junk food. Dietary patterns analyzed included home-prepared foods, ready-prepared baby foods, breastfeeding, and junk foods, such as cookies, chocolate, sweets, soft drinks and potato chips. "Diet supplies the nutrients needed for the development of brain tissues in the first two years of life,” researchers said.