Researchers at MIT have provided scientific evidence demonstrating that dietary nutrients can improve intelligence.

New findings published in the FASEB Journal, show that nutrients found in a wide range of foods consumed from childhood can increase brain synapses and improve cognitive abilities.

The MIT team fed gerbils on three compounds required for healthy brain membranes - choline, found in eggs, uridine monophosphate (UMP) found in beetroot and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish oils.

Results offered biochemical evidence that there was an increased amount of brain synapse activity, consistent with behaviours indicating higher intelligence.

Commenting on the study's potential for neurodegenerative treatments, senior researcher Dr Richard Wurtman, said: "I hope human brains will, like those of experimental animals, respond to this kind of treatment by making more brain synapses and thus restoring cognitive abilities."

British scientists recently reported that older people with diets rich in omega-3 oils from fish are less likely to show signs of cognitive decline associated with the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

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