Researchers link processed food to lower IQs in kids.

I like to think that emulsifiers and preservatives help keep brain cells fresh. From Consumerist:

It could be that munching on processed foods packed with fat and sugar may make kids a bit less intelligent. British researchers have found 3-year-olds who munch on such grub tend to have a slightly lower IQ when they reach age 8. Meanwhile, 3-year-olds with healthier diets were shown to have higher IQs five years later.

CNN reports the link between processed foods and eventual lower IQs stops at age 3. Kids aged 4 to 7 didn't show different IQs at age 8 no matter what their diets were. The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, but the researchers dubbed the link between diet and IQ as "weak and novel."

The chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity Leadership Workgroup notes that it's difficult to pinpoint what causes IQ fluctuations in kids because diet is simply one variable in child development.