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Ninety Welsh children between the ages of 12 and 13 years were tested by psychologist David Benton and school teacher Giwyln Roberts. The researchers assessed their verbal and nonverbal intelligence after examining 3 day diet diaries. Children were divided into three groups. One group received a mineral / vitamin supplement, another received a placebo pill, the third group received nothing at all. This continued for eight months, after which all three sets of children were given intelligence tests. Verbal intelligence test scores of all three groups increased by about five points, but only the group which had been taken mineral / vitamin supplements saw a significant increase in non-verbal IQ scores. The children who took placebos or nothing at all, showed no increase. These findings are consistent with other studies which attribute defects in neural functioning to thiamine, zinc, iron and vitamin B complex deficiency.

Another study, also quoted in the Lancet, has it that near or short sighted people are slightly more intelligent than people with 20-20 vision. On average, myopics score IQ points higher than those with normal sight. The intelligence does not increase in proportion to the severity of the eye defect. This study was carried out by a team headed by Professor Teasdale at the institute of Psychological studies at Copenhagen university. Using the sample of 15,834 Danish conscripts, 62.5 percent of them normally sighted and 37.5 percent myopic, the researchers found short sighted soldiers did better than the rest in army tests and had a better school records. It was found that educational level differences could account for the relation between intelligence and myopia.

Excerpted from page 90 of ‘Examinations: An Informative Update’ by M Mascarenhas.