Tip The Fat That Makes You Smarter Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating Tip The Fat That Makes You Smarter Studies agree that excess body fat lowers intelligence but eating a certain kind of fat can increase it Info here by Chris Shugart October 14, 2017April 5, 2021 Tags Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Obesity Is Dumb A few years ago, a study published in the journal Neurology found that very overweight people aren't as intelligent as leaner people. More accurately, the researchers found a link between obesity and cognitive decline. It was controversial to say the least, not because it wasn't accurate, but because sometimes science isn't politically correct. Other studies came to the same general conclusion: being overweight messes with how your brain works. But while being fat appears to cause decreased mental function, eating fat – at least the right kind – may have the opposite effect. What Makes You Think More Gooder What you eat affects your cognitive performance, but scientists have had trouble figuring out exactly how that works. It turns out that general intelligence is associated with the efficiency and organization of your brain's dorsal attention network. That's the part of the brain that takes care of daily problem solving and attention-demanding tasks. Researchers used a measure called small-world propensity, which describes "how well the neural network is connected within locally clustered regions as well as across globally integrated systems." Translation: The better your small-world propensity, the smarter you are. Okay So Where Do Dietary Fats Come Into Play In one study of 99 older adults, general intelligence came down to their monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) intake. In short, those who consumed more MUFAs were smarter. Those study participants with higher levels of MUFAs in their blood had greater small-world propensity in their dorsal attention network. What This Means to You To avoid cognitive decline and maximize your intelligence, focus, and problem-solving skills: Don't get fat. Eat fat. Olive oil, nuts and nut butters, eggs, and avocadoes are great sources of monounsaturated fatty acids. Reference Marta K. Zamroziewicz, M. Tanveer Talukdar, Chris E. Zwilling, Aron K. Barbey. Nutritional status, brain network organization, and general intelligence. NeuroImage, 2017 Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Eating Tip Don t Let Exercise Kill Testosterone Levels Stop exercise-induced drops in T with a tiny dose of this vitamin. Nutrition & Supplements, Testosterone Boosters, Testosterone Optimization, Tips TC Luoma April 28 Supplements Tip Get More Satisfaction in the Sack Take this compound and have a more satisfying sex life. Here's the science. Building Muscle, Curcumin, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips TC Luoma October 20 Eating Tip Eat 4 Per Week to Improve Glucose Metabolism This simple diet adjustment may reduce your risk of getting type-2 diabetes by 37 percent. Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Chris Shugart July 21 Eating Death Match You vs Your Body It's a battle royale between you and your body: you want to lose fat while keeping your muscle, but your body has other plans. Diet Strategy, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements Mike Roussell, PhD October 22