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Zinc Hones
Teens' Thinking Skills
(HealthDayNews, 4/4/05)
James G. Penland of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center in North Dakota,
and team, assigned 209 seventh graders to drink 4 ounces of
fruit juice 5 days a week for 10 to 12 weeks. The juice either
contained no zinc, 10 mg of zinc or 20 mg of the mineral. The
investigators then tested the subjects’ attention, perception,
memory and reasoning. The researchers found that subjects
given 20 mg of zinc performed better on follow-up tests of
memory and attention span than did those in the no-zinc group.
These findings suggest that zinc supplementation may benefit
the mental functioning of adolescents.
(Experimental Biology 2005 meeting,
San Diego, April 4) |
Article Summary