Evidence suggests that the Western diet is a major contributory cause of cardiovascular disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer and bone and joint disorders. These lifestyle diseases can be prevented and reversed through consumption of traditional diets, which supports the contention that they are diet related metabolic dysfunctions. However, as well as the lifestyle diseases that are easy to detect, other more insidious nutritional related maladies are currently permeating Western populations. In particular, a range of low level cognitive dysfunctions can be attributed to poor quality diet, including the inability to concentrate, poor memory, lack of drive, depression and antisocial behaviour. The link between high quality diets and cognitive development in the early stages of life is well established. That low quality diets devoid of meaningful levels of omega 3 (n-3) fatty acids and micronutrients have become the norm in developed nations brings into question the effects of such nutrition on society as a whole, particularly with regard progress.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition1 investigated the ability of n-3 fatty acids and iron to improve cognition in South African school children. The children who had poor n-3 and iron status were administered either 155 mg per week eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C20:5 (n-3)) with 29 mg per day docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 (n-3)), 18 mg per day iron, a combination of iron plus EPA and DHA, or a placebo for 38 weeks. The results showed that n-3 fatty acid supplementation and iron both significantly increased the weight of the children compared to the placebo. In addition, children receiving iron improved in verbal and nonverbal learning, and their memories improved. This was particularly evident in children with the poorest iron status. The authors reported that iron supplements increase body stores in all supplemented subjects and caused a decrease in the anaemia rate from 20.6 % to 1.9 %. The erythrocyte DHA and EPA concentrations increased by 127 % and 95 % following supplementation.
These results support other studies in humans and animals that show beneficial effects on cognition with supplements of micronutrients. The lack of an effect for the fish oils in this study was surprising, but may be due to the low doses administered in combination with the high n-6 to n-3 ratio (~60:1) in the diet of the school children. The current evidence overwhelmingly suggests that supplements of micronutrients and essential fatty acids increase cognitive ability in children when dietary insufficiencies in those nutrients are present. The efficacy of supplements in such cases is not in contention in the nutritional literature and anyone who claims a lack of evidence for such an effect of supplements is ill informed or has a particular agenda. The pertinent question is therefore not whether supplementation works to correct deficiencies, but whether children have dietary insufficiencies that need correcting. Evidence to date suggests that indeed they do, and that these deficiencies are widespread as a result of overly processed Western foods.
The broader implications of the deleterious effects of the Western diet on cognitive function deserves discussion because of the serious questions that arise from such consideration. If Western foods are causing widespread deficiencies amongst the population it stands to reason that the physical and mental function of that population may decline temporarily. As the society we create around us is simply a collective reflection of our mental state, long-term poor quality nutrition may over time cause society to regress. Historically, it has been recorded that civilisations with access to high quality soils full of minerals that allowed the production of large quantities of nutrient dense crops prospered and become great empires. The intellects that created those civilisations were reliant on good quality nutrition from a young age in order to fully develop to maturity. The long-term effects of the current Western diet is unknown, but evidence to date suggests that the societal decay occurring presently is related to the adulteration of the food supply.
RdB
