Naturalistic Task: Newspaper Article

Food can increase intelligence?
by Loo Nathanael

Does food really help to
increase your IQ? Should
they be consumed? Read on
to find out.

Many mothers are fretting over
their sons' performance in schools
and therefore are buying food
supplements in an attempt to enhance
their intelligence. Are these methods
really that efficacious?

According to a study by Dr. Joseph
Mercola, he concludes that the top
five foods to boost brainpower are fish
oil, organic and raw vegetables, raw
eggs, non-sugar foods and lastly,
blueberries.

These are just some examples
of natural supplements but with the advance
of food technology, scientists are able to
come up with products that seemingly make
our brains smarter. Some examples of these
products are Brands Essence of Chicken, Cod
Liver Oil and the list goes on and on. These
foods not only boost brainpower, but are also
made to taste good so that consumers would
eat it constantly. Thus, most of the products
should contain sugar, contrary to the study
done by Dr. Mercalo, stating that non-sugar
foods disrupt insulin levels and can lead to
diseases if there is over-consumption.

In my opinion, I feel that it is quite
impossible for food supplements to enhance
one's intelligence because if it were really
so, then there would be not much problems in
school. Even if these foods help to increase
intelligence, they can only do so by 0.01% at
the most. I have experience in Primary 6 when
it was the crucial year for me, wit the PSLE
lying in wait at the end of the year. Tests
and exams were inevitable even in January. I
was not given Brands Essence of Chicken for
my preliminaries and I have to say that I
scored better for that compared to my actual
PSLE, when I was given Brands every morning!
Not to denounce Brands, but I personally feel
that it does not help to enhance intelligence,
instead it perks me up and keeps me awake during
the tests.

If you still believe in the efficacy of
such products, I suggest that you should
leave out the food products but instead, buy
the natural supplements. This can help you
to save your money as the natural supplements
are much cheaper and are more nutritious.

In conclusion, I refute the efficacy of
food supplements to enhance intelligence but
instead, feel that nothing can be done to
increase brainpower, unless the operation in
Flowers for Algernon really comes true.