Leading Geneticist: Human Intelligence is Slowly Declining.

[justamouse]

When I read the article, I was NOT expecting to read this---

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Water Supply, Fluoride is Lowering Your IQ

 

Researchers from Harvard have found that a substance rampant in the nation’s water supply,

fluoride, is lowering IQ and dumbing down the population. The researchers, who had their findings published in the prominent journal Environmental Health Perspectives, a federal government medical journal stemming from the U.S National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, concluded that â€our results support the possibility of adverse effects of fluoride exposures on children’s neurodevelopmentâ€.

“In this study we found a significant dose-response relation between fluoride level in serum and children’s IQ…This is the 24th study that has found this associationâ€.

One attorney, Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President, weighs in on the research by saying:

“It’s senseless to keep subjecting our children to this ongoing fluoridation experiment to satisfy the political agenda of special-interest groups. Even if fluoridation reduced cavities, is tooth health more important than brain health? It’s time to put politics aside and stop artificial fluoridation everywhereâ€.

Pesticides are Diminishing Intelligence

 

One study

published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that pesticides, which are rampant among the food supply, are creating lasting changes in overall brain structure — changes that have been linked to lower intelligence levels and decreased cognitive function. Specifically, the researchers found that a pesticide known as chlorpyrifos (CPF) has been linked to â€significant abnormalitiesâ€. Further, the negative impact was found to occur even at low levels of exposure.

Lead researcher Virginia Rauh, a professor at the Mailman School of Public Health, summarized the findings:

“Toxic exposure during this critical period can have far-reaching effects on brain development and behavioral functioning.â€

Processed Foods, High Fructose Corn Syrup Making People ‘Stupid’

 

Following 14,000 children, British researchers uncovered the connection between

processed foods and reduced IQ. After recording the children’s’ diets and analyzing questionnaires submitting by the parents, the researchers found that if children were consuming a processed diet at age 3, IQ decline could begin over the next five years. The study found that by age 8, the children had suffered the IQ decline. On the contrary, children who ate a nutrient-rich diet including fruit and vegetables were found to increase their IQ over the 3 year period. The foods considered nutrient-rich by the researchers were most likely conventional fruits and vegetables.

Interestingly, one particular ingredient ubiquitous in processed foods and sugary beverages across the globe -high fructose corn syrup – has been tied to reduced IQ. The UCLA researchers coming to these findings found that HFCS may be damaging the brain functions of consumers worldwide, sabotaging learning and memory. In fact, the

official release goes as far to say that high-fructose corn syrup can make you ‘stupid’.

Gene mutations may have something to do with our ongoing decline in intelligence, but let’s stop to think for a moment what we’re doing to ourselves to make this decline even more prominent.

 

 

 

Read more:

http://naturalsociety.com/leading-geneticist-human-intelligence-slowly-declining/#ixzz2LGvnK3OB

[KungFuPanda]

On the part about processed foods . . . I think nutrition matters, but wouldn't more intelligent parents make better food choices AND provide a more enriching life for their children AND produce more intelligent children in the first place? It seems this could muddy the results.

[Dandelion]

Read the article yesterday.

 

For various health reasons, we already avoid fluoride (we have well water, use non-fluoride toothpaste, and skip the fluoride treatment at the dentist), pesticides (as much as possible), most processed foods, and HFCS. Was interesting to read about the possible IQ connection.

[Jennifer3141]

Here are my questions about this study:

 

This paragraph:

 

One study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that pesticides, which are rampant among the food supply, are creating lasting changes in overall brain structure — changes that have been linked to lower intelligence levels and decreased cognitive function. Specifically, the researchers found that a pesticide known as chlorpyrifos (CPF) has been linked to â€significant abnormalitiesâ€. Further, the negative impact was found to occur even at low levels of exposure.

 

and this sentence seem to be at odds:

 

"The foods considered nutrient-rich by the researchers were most likely conventional fruits and vegetables."

 

So people fed this a conventional, nutrient rich diet are smarter? Doesn't that contradict the previous paragraph?

 

If fluoride really is making people dumb, why aren't country people on wells showing up as aberrations in all of these studies? There are 21,000 people in my county and we're all on well water. Are we smarter than the city people 11 miles away?

 

And HFCS is in the CHEAP stuff. You don't find HFCS in Pepperidge Farm bread - which is $5 a loaf compared to $2 for Wonderbread. Now the Pepperidge Farm has whole grains and fewer preservatives as well. The HFCS... is that correlation or causation?

 

And kids fed a diet rich in cheap, HFCS food are probably less likely to have parents who take them to the park or the library. If you don't care that your kid is eating Burger King every day, you probably don't care about academics or exercise as well. Again, correlation or causation?

[speedmom4]

On the part about processed foods . . . I think nutrition matters, but wouldn't more intelligent parents make better food choices AND provide a more enriching life for their children AND produce more intelligent children in the first place? It seems this could muddy the results.

 

 

This is exactly what I was thinking. I do agree that nutrition is very important but I don't think you can overlook the intelligence factor and food choice.

 

Elise in NC

[Parrothead]

On the part about processed foods . . . I think nutrition matters, but wouldn't more intelligent parents make better food choices AND provide a more enriching life for their children AND produce more intelligent children in the first place? It seems this could muddy the results.

 

 

You would think more intelligent parents would. But I see more intelligent parents being too busy with life and providing enrichment to do a lot of nutritional questioning. Kind of like if the FDA allow is, it has to be safe.

[amsunshine]

You would think more intelligent parents would. But I see more intelligent parents being too busy with life and providing enrichment to do a lot of nutritional questioning. Kind of like if the FDA allow is, it has to be safe.

 

 

I have to agree. It's also kind of sad that some things are heavily marketed as being healthy when they aren't. Like agave.

[Amy in NH]

You don't find HFCS in Pepperidge Farm bread - which is $5 a loaf compared to $2 for Wonderbread.

 

 

That depends on which loaf you grab. IME most Pepperidge Farm products, including breads, contain HFCS.

[OH_Homeschooler]

If we are getting dumber, why are they constantly recalibrating IQ tests because people are scoring higher and higher?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn_effect

[Jennifer3141]

That depends on which loaf you grab. IME most Pepperidge Farm products, including breads, contain HFCS.

 

 

 

Whole Grain Pepperidge Farm... "No HFCS," right on the front of the package. :)

Right under the $5.19 price stamp.

[Jennifer3141]

Now I had to google my lunch bread. Apparently none of Pepperidge Farm's "whole grain" breads have HFCS. And I only buy the whole grains for me for the fiber. I get my kids local atrisan bread or I make theirs.

 

I'm 41. I need the double fiber. :)

[justamouse]

On the part about processed foods . . . I think nutrition matters, but wouldn't more intelligent parents make better food choices AND provide a more enriching life for their children AND produce more intelligent children in the first place? It seems this could muddy the results.

 

 

Could be, but, what if they don't have access TO The food or can't afford it?

 

Just because they know it's better doesn't mean they can obtain it.

[Catherine]

If you click through the many editorials to the actual scientific study, what you will find is that the studies included in the meta-analysis were largely from China, where well water in some cases has natural flouride levels many times higher than the levels in flouridated water in the USA. Some studies included wells and municipal water sources from the USA, but not in the high-fluoride group.

[redsquirrel]

Then why are IQ scores going up?

[butterflymommy]

IQs are declining due to the inverse relationship between IQ and fertility. IQ is at least 70% genetic, and on average, smart people have fewer children (for a variety of reasons), and less smart people have more children (for a variety of reasons). It's just coincidence that fluoridated water has come into being in the same century that high IQ people started reproducing less.

 

As far as processed food being linked to lower IQ, it could just be that smarter people make smarter food choices.

[butterflymommy]

Then why are IQ scores going up?

 

 

They're not-- the flynn effect made it look like they were going up but they are, in fact, going down, due to the inverse IQ/ fertility relationship.

[OH_Homeschooler]

 

They're not-- the flynn effect made it look like they were going up but they are, in fact, going down, due to the inverse IQ/ fertility relationship.

 

I think that's one possible explanation of the Flynn Effect but I don't think anything's been proven or disproven. The simple fact is, IQ scores ARE increasing.

[Moxie]

This is a OT but has anyone seen the really funny and vulgar movie "Idiocrasy"?? It is about a future in which only hillbilly teens reproduced--educated people were too busy to have kids so the population got dumber and dumber. Funny movie but not for delicate types.

[Parrothead]

Sooo. .. the pesticides on fruits and vegetables are making us stupid, but eating more fruits and vegetables is making us smarter? Doesn't that just contradict itself?

Not if one eats organic.

 

But admittedly that is difficult to do unless one grows all of one's own produce.

[SKL]

Welll, that esplains alot.

[GailV]

This is a OT but has anyone seen the really funny and vulgar movie "Idiocrasy"?? It is about a future in which only hillbilly teens reproduced--educated people were too busy to have kids so the population got dumber and dumber. Funny movie but not for delicate types.

 

That movie was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread! Why worry about HFCS when you've got Brawndo!

[Dandelion]

This topic reminds me of this thread from last week: Food Companies Exploit Americans with Ingredients Banned in Other Countries

 

It seems to be another example of how the U.S. allows substances to get into the food and water supply that are banned in other countries.

 

Fluoridation: Water supply fluoridation has been banned or rejected in most of mainland Europe, China, India, most of Japan, and various other countries (see this list of fluoridation by country). While some of these countries simply determined it was unnecessary (due to high naturally occurring levels of fluoride for example), many others specifically banned adding fluoride to the water due to environmental, health, legal, or ethical concerns. Added water supply fluoridation actually only affects about 5.7% of people worldwide.

 

Pesticides: Pesticides are much more heavily regulated in Europe (as a point of comparison) than in the U.S. This report (International Comparison of Pesticide Regulations) provides a very interesting read. The allowable Maximum Residue Limits for pesticides on food are generally highest in the U.S. as compared to other countries (with the exception of Canada, which has similar pesticide regulation to the U.S.).

 

Processed foods/HFCS: HFCS is not banned in Europe, but it is regulated and kept to a limited production quota. As a result, the EU hasn't seen the wide-spread replacement of sugar with HFCS like we've seen here in the U.S. As was established in last week's thread (linked above), processed foods in Europe also contain much less "junk".

 

Just some food for thought.

[nmoira]

The one thing that has been undeniably linked to a widespread decline in IQ in affected people in the US, lead, wasn't mentioned.

 

Funny, that.

[Dandelion]

This is a OT but has anyone seen the really funny and vulgar movie "Idiocrasy"?? It is about a future in which only hillbilly teens reproduced--educated people were too busy to have kids so the population got dumber and dumber. Funny movie but not for delicate types.

 

Love Idiocracy. I think of it every time I hear the word "upgrade" (can't remember the way they slaughtered that spelling in the movie, lol).

[Annie]

 

 

That movie was the first thing I thought of when I saw this thread! Why worry about HFCS when you've got Brawndo!

 

It has electrolytes!

 

 

"Water? Like from the toilet?" :lol:

[TravelingChris]

I recommend reading Coming Apart, the State of White America 1960-2010 by Charles Murray, who was a sociologist. He only used statistics of White Americans since he didn't want changing immigration patterns and the Civil Rights movement to distort his findings though many of the same patterns are occurring in non white America. His argument is that the smart people are getting smarter but the dumb people are getting dumber- why? Because one huge change in the last 50 years is who we are meeting to marry or have children with. People used to marry others in their small towns and neighborhoods, now the smarter people go to college and marry other smarter people they meet in college or later at work or in the increasingly segregated by education communities.

[Crimson Wife]

 

 

I think that's one possible explanation of the Flynn Effect but I don't think anything's been proven or disproven. The simple fact is, IQ scores ARE increasing.

 

The Flynn effect is primarily in one area- visio-spatial I.Q. The explanation I have read is that it is due to the popularity of video games. I don't know how to include links from the iPad, but if you Google "Flynn effect video games", there is a Smithsonian article on the topic entitled "Are You Smarter Than Your Grandfather? Probably Not"

[Julie Smith]

This is a OT but has anyone seen the really funny and vulgar movie "Idiocrasy"?? It is about a future in which only hillbilly teens reproduced--educated people were too busy to have kids so the population got dumber and dumber. Funny movie but not for delicate types.

 

 

I was thinking of that movie.

[Melissa in Australia]

:hurray: :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

according to that article my children should be getting more and more intelligent. we have rainwater tanks, grow just about all our own food and don't really eat any processed food (except the occasional bit of salami).

 

 

BUT ~~~ and here is the sad bit :crying: . there was just released a study in Australia showing that more and more people are not using iodised salt, and as Australia is extremely iodine deficiency, this is resulting in children's IQ getting lower. We have been using sea rock salt, which doesn't have iodine added so I think I have canceled out the other benefits and just have above average children instead of geniuses. :rofl:

[Amy in NH]

Whole Grain Pepperidge Farm... "No HFCS," right on the front of the package. :)

Right under the $5.19 price stamp.

 

Yes, but Pepperidge Farms has 5-6 different bread lines, and the "whole grain" line is their only line without the HFCS.

[nmoira]

The author of the "intelligence is declining" study was on Science Friday late last year. He talked about some of the points brought up here. Dr. Crabtree is talking about a slow decline over millennia, not something that is observable from generation to generation. I'm not convinced.

 

Here's a transcript:

http://www.wbur.org/npr/165278524/are-we-getting-dumber-maybe-scientist-says

 

His findings are not without detractors.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/human-intelligence-peaked-thousands-of-years-ago-and-weve-been-on-an-intellectual-and-emotional-decline-ever-since-8307101.html

http://genotopia.scienceblog.com/tag/crabtree/

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-11/are-people-getting-dumber-one-geneticist-thinks-so

[Jennifer3141]

 

Yes, but Pepperidge Farms has 5-6 different bread lines, and the "whole grain" line is their only line without the HFCS.

 

 

Thank you for proving my point. Their whole grain line is their most expensive. Duh.

[nmoira]

I mentioned lead up-thread. This popped up in my morning reading.

 

Lead Exposure on the Rise

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=lead-exposure-on-the-rise