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SCIENCE DAILY University of California - Santa Barbara

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SCIENCE DAILY
Breast milk reveals a correlation between dietary fats and academic success
Date: September 11, 2014
Source:
University of California - Santa Barbara
Summary:
You are what you eat, the saying goes, and now a study suggests that the oft-repeated adage
applies not just to physical health, but to brain power as well. Researchers compared the fatty
acid profiles of breast milk from women in over two dozen countries with how well children
from those same countries performed on academic tests. Their findings show that the amount
of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a mother's milk is the strongest predictor of test
performance. It outweighs national income and the number of dollars spent per pupil in
schools.
The amount of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a mother’s milk fats found primarily in
certain fish, nuts and seeds is the strongest predictor of test performance. It outweighs national
income and the number of dollars spent per pupil in schools, researchers say.

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Credit: © Ermolaev Alexandr / Fotolia
You are what you eat, the saying goes, and now a study conducted by researchers at UC
Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh suggests that the oft-repeated adage applies not
just to physical health but to brain power as well.
In a paper published in the early online edition of the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and
Essential Fatty Acids, the researchers compared the fatty acid profiles of breast milk from
women in over two dozen countries with how well children from those same countries
performed on academic tests.
Their findings show that the amount of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a mother's milk
-- fats found primarily in certain fish, nuts and seeds -- is the strongest predictor of test
performance. It outweighs national income and the number of dollars spent per pupil in
schools.
DHA alone accounted for about 20 percent of the differences in test scores among countries,
the researchers found.
On the other hand, the amount of omega-6 fat in mother's milk -- fats that come from
vegetable oils such as corn and soybean -- predict lower test scores. When the amount of DHA
and linoleic acid (LA) -- the most common omega-6 fat -- were considered together, they
explained nearly half of the differences in test scores. In countries where mother's diets contain
more omega-6, the beneficial effects of DHA seem to be reduced.
"Human intelligence has a physical basis in the huge size of our brains -- some seven times
larger than would be expected for a mammal with our body size," said Steven Gaulin, UCSB
professor of anthropology and co-author of the paper. "Since there is never a free lunch, those
big brains need lots of extra building materials -- most importantly, they need omega-3 fatty
acids, especially DHA. Omega-6 fats, however, undermine the effects of DHA and seem to be
bad for brains."

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 SCIENCE DAILY Breast milk reveals a correlation between dietary fats and academic success Date: September 11, 2014 Source: University of California - Santa Barbara Summary: You are what you eat, the saying goes, and now a study suggests that the oft-repeated adage applies not just to physical health, but to brain power as well. Researchers compared the fatty acid profiles of breast milk from women in over two dozen countries with how well children from those same countries performed on academic tests. Their findings show that the amount of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a mother's milk is the strongest predictor of test performance. It outweighs national income and the number of dollars spent per pupil in schools. The amount of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in a mother’s milk — fats found primarily in certain fish, nuts and seeds — is the strongest predictor of test performance. It outweighs national income and the number of dollars spent per pupil in schools, researchers say. Credit: © Ermolaev Alexandr / Fotolia You are what you eat, the saying goes, and now a study conducted by researchers at UC Santa Barbara and the University of Pittsburgh suggests that the oft-repeated adage applies not just to physical health but to brain power as well. In a paper published in the early online edition of the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids, the researchers compared the fatty acid profi ...
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