Tentative proof that less processed, raw foods made people more intelligent

[TylerDurden]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11197958/Rationing-in-World-War-2-increased-intelligence-of-Britons.html

[eveheart]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/11197958/Rationing-in-World-War-2-increased-intelligence-of-Britons.html

Run that topic by me one more time, TD... I read the article forwards and backwards and didn't see any mention of raw foods in the author's discussion. She does mention "Researchers think that cutting rich, sugary and fatty foods out of the diets of growing children had a hugely beneficial impact on their growing brains." She also states, "It is known that despite the stress of the war, the health of the lower classes improved as they were encouraged to eat vegetables, beans and fruit. Access to cigarettes and alcohol was limited." The article's accompanying photograph shows children chowing down on raw carrots, but that doesn't suggest a raw diet in the same sense that we talk about it.

Were there cooking fuel shortages during that war that led to increased consumption of raw foods?

[van]

It might have to some small degree that when you're so hungry, you don't want to wait till you can cook something,, you eat it right then and there.
    I would have guessed the opposite,, that the sizable reduction of meat, fat, eggs etc..  would have retarded the development of the brain, just as studies have shown how nursing mothers fed good amounts of foods containing Dha and other essential fatty acids rear babies with higher IQ's.

[eveheart]

    I would have guessed the opposite,, that the sizable reduction of meat, fat, eggs etc..  would have retarded the development of the brain, just as studies have shown how nursing mothers fed good amounts of foods containing Dha and other essential fatty acids rear babies with higher IQ's.

That's why the wartime outcome was out of line with the expected Flynn Effect (increase in intelligence driven by increased prosperity, nutrition, hygiene, and safety). - you'd naturally think that wartime poverty and food shortage would produce a lowering effect on prosperity, nutrition, hygiene, and safety.

Remember what happened with Dean Ornish's ultra-low fat findings? Ornish attributed his subjects' improvement with low fat, even though those same sick subjects also added exercise and eliminated sugar, alcohol, and tobacco from their diet. Subsequently, Ornish's findings have not been duplicated when ultra-low fat was the only changed parameter, pointing to general improvement in diet and lifestyle as the cause of improvement. (Duh!)

[TylerDurden]

Run that topic by me one more time, TD... I read the article forwards and backwards and didn't see any mention of raw foods in the author's discussion. She does mention "Researchers think that cutting rich, sugary and fatty foods out of the diets of growing children had a hugely beneficial impact on their growing brains." She also states, "It is known that despite the stress of the war, the health of the lower classes improved as they were encouraged to eat vegetables, beans and fruit. Access to cigarettes and alcohol was limited." The article's accompanying photograph shows children chowing down on raw carrots, but that doesn't suggest a raw diet in the same sense that we talk about it.

Were there cooking fuel shortages during that war that led to increased consumption of raw foods?

I meant that since the article showed  that a less processed diet made people more intelligent, that, indirectly, it meant that  the least processed diet, ie a raw one, would be the best re raising intelligence levels. OK, so it's my conclusion, but it is a logical one given the evidence.