Food, a gastronome-poet once said, is magic to the senses. He couldn't have been more right. Science is now finding that the key to a ticking brain - that most complex of human organs - is good food.And more specifically, vitamins. Cut down on them and you could become a bit of a dunderhead. Foreign studies have shown how a lack of vitamins in the diet can alter the size of brain cells and the growth of neurotransmitters, the brain's communication networks. Vitamin B complex, for example, affects the cognitive processes of the brain. At the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, scientists have documented a significant deficiency in the average Indian diet as far as these vitamins go. Vitamins are abundantly found in fruits and vegetables. Studies at the institute have also shown how brain development in foetuses of malnourished mothers is slower than normal. So the damage can set in very early. And considering that nearly a third of all children in India are underweight when born, a diet scarce in vitamins can be a death wish. Therefore, tank up on fruits and veggies to stay sharp. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}UpsideA search has begun at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore to identify the gene that causes schizophrenia. Schizophrenics see, hear or feel things that are not really there. Identifying the rogue gene could help in an eventual cure. DownsidePlague is now a danger with an exploding rat population in the new farm lands along Rajasthan's Indira Gandhi Canal. Pesticide use is rising on these new frontiers and this, scientists fear, could make the feared fleas that cause plague resistant to chemicals.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 17, 1998--- ENDS ---
