Raise Your Child’s IQ with Multivitamins

Wouldn’t it be remarkable if taking vitamins could raise a child’s IQ score? It may seem preposterous. That’s what British psychologist David Benton, thought, too, until he decided to investigate. He is now convinced that giving vit­amin-mineral supplements to children has the potential to significantly boost their scores on intelligence tests. The first evidence came from his 1988 double-blind study of twelve-year-old schoolchildren published in The Lancet, a prestigious British medical journal.

Dr. Benton gave thirty children a special vitamin-mineral supplement and thirty others a dummy pill or placebo for eight months. The kids took standard intelli­gence tests before and after.

Scores on the so-called “ver­bal” part of the test did not change. But, remarkably, the scores of vitamin-takers on the “nonverbal” intelligence test soared an average nine points—up from 111 to 120, com­pared with a mere one point in non-supplemented kids.

Dr. Benton was surprised, but says it makes sense. No one would expect vitamins to raise verbal IQ scores because they measure achievement and reflect cultural, educa­tional, and environmental factors, such as a better vocab­ulary, he says. “And, for sure, taking vitamins is not going to give you a better vocabulary.” But tests of nonverbal intel­ligence are another matter.

Nonverbal intelligence reflects basic biological functioning, or brain potential. You can’t elevate it through education. For example, as brain weight increases in infants and young children, so do their scores on nonverbal intelligence tests, says Dr. Benton. It is logi­cal then, he says, that vitamins would affect nonverbal, bio­logically influenced intelligence, but not learned verbal IQs.

Dr. Benton’s report stirred up much public and scien­tific controversy in Great Britain, including a favorable BBC TV documentary and a court trial resulting in fines of a vitamin company that trumpeted the results to sell thou­sands of bottles of vitamins to worried parents.

Some sci­entists rejected the proposition that vitamins could raise IQ. Others disagreed on what percentage of children might benefit. Dr. Benton argued that if there was a reasonable chance of boosting IQ, considering that vitamins are so inexpensive, it would be smart to take the supplements at least as “insurance.”

Other research has backed up Dr. Benton’s findings. One is a 1991 study by Steven J. Schoenthaler, a California State University criminologist long interested in a connection between diet and delinquent behavior. He gave twenty-six institutionalized juvenile delinquents, ages thirteen to six­teen, either a multivitamin-mineral supplement or a placebo for thirteen weeks.

Before and after the supplementation, he tested their intelligence by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. He also assessed their brain function by a special computerized EEG machine, and measured their blood concentrations of ten vitamins and seven minerals to judge their nutritional status.

After thirteen weeks of vitamin-mineral supplements, the children’s verbal scores on the IQ test did not change, as expected, but nonverbal IQ scores of the vitamin-takers went up an average six points. One youngster’s IQ score skyrocketed 25 points—from 117 to an astonishing 142. Another’s rose from 100 to 123. The improvement in scores led Dr. Schoenthaler to conclude that “underlying malnu­trition may be a likely cause of academic difficulties.”

Also remarkable, a high incidence of EEG brain wave abnor­malities virtually vanished in those getting vitamins. And there was a possible bonus: Antisocial behavior—such as violent attacks on staff and other residents in the facility—declined in those whose nutritional status improved, said Schoenthaler.

The idea got increasing support when prominent British nutritional authority John Yudkin at Kings College in Lon­don became intrigued and joined Dr. Schoenthaler in a study of 615 eighth and tenth grade children. After thirteen weeks, about 45 percent of those taking supplements with 100 percent of the RDA, gained 15 or more points in non­verbal IQ compared with 20 percent in the placebo group.

Researchers concluded that “dietary supplementation improved fluid intelligence estimates by a minimum of 6 points, with an average of 11 points and a maximum of 21 points”—a substantial boost, suggesting that the brain is undermined by subtle hidden vitamin deficiencies easily corrected by supplements.

Another 1991 study by Dr. Benton and Richard Cook in Swansea, Wales, showed that multivitamin-mineral supplements raised intelligence scores of six-year-old children over eight points, compared with a placebo. The rise was attributed to the youngsters’ increased ability to concen­trate.

In an interview in 1998, Dr. Benton said at least seven studies consistently show that vitamin supplements can cause “a relatively large” increase in youngsters’ nonverbal intelligence scores. In fact, Dr. Benton asserts that, based on research, from one-third to one-half of all children might improve IQ scores by taking vitamins. That’s an astounding 23 to 35 million children under age eighteen in the United States! “No known pharmacological drug can cause this kind of impact,” he adds.

So what explains such a phenomenon? A particularly striking finding in these studies is that kids whose IQs shot up the most—or at all—also improved most in nutritional status. The supplements normalized blood levels of vitamins and minerals in youngsters who initially had abnormally low blood levels. This is the major clue to the stunning results, says Dr. Benton. He contends the vitamins work because they correct substandard intellectual functioning due to marginal deficiencies caused by a poor diet. Unques­tionably, subclinical deficiencies of micronutrients disrupt psychological functioning, says Dr. Benton. Brain cells starving for nutrients cannot function optimally.

Proof comes from blood tests. Most children whose IQ scores rise also show a rise in blood levels of vitamins, indi­cating their bodies needed the vitamins. If you are well nourished, the body will not take up unneeded nutrients.

How can you know if your child lacks key nutrients and might improve intellectual performance by taking vita­mins? You can’t, because it depends not only on diet but on individual biochemistry. Everybody responds differently to vitamin supplementation, says Dr. Benton. His view: Taking vitamin supplements will not improve every child’s IQ scores.

But since it is impossible to determine who will ben­efit and many kids eat nutritionally substandard diets, the gamble seems well worth it— especially since vitamins are relatively inexpensive and are beneficial throughout the body. It’s a bet with no downside and the benefits could be phenomenal, not only to individual children but to society as a whole. As Dr. Benton says, in profound understate­ment, “It’s good insurance.” And who wouldn’t want to take out insurance on their child’s brains?

“Our studies show, we believe conclusively, that adding vitamins and minerals to the diets of children who have no obvious physical signs of nutrient deficiency can nevertheless produce an increase in their IQ scores.” —John Yudkin, emeritus professor of nutrition at King’s College, London