Four children whose brains and mental abilities were suddenly transformed after they took a simple dietary supplement have astonished scientists.

Scans showed their brains underwent three years’ of development in just three months. At the same time they displayed remarkable improvements in tests of reading, concentration, problem-solving and memory. One boy who previously scorned books and was hooked on TV developed a love of reading and declared he was “bored” of television.

The three boys and one girl, aged between eight and 13, were taking part in a pilot study looking at the effects of diet on developing young brains. Scientists believe the results are powerful evidence of the harm “junk food” is doing to Britain’s children.

The children were given a supplement containing a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids, and encouraged to cut down on fatty snacks and fizzy drinks and be more active. At the end, they underwent brain scans at St George’s Hospital, London, in a machine that can detect a key biochemical indicator of brain development called NAA (N-Acetylaspartate).

Higher levels of NAA correspond to more nerve fibres growing in the brain. Researchers from Imperial College London claimed that the results were astonishing and that they saw as much growth in NAA in three months as you would normally see in three years.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 10th, 2007 at 1:01 pm and is filed under Children's Health, In the News, Mental Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.