Ben Balzer elaborated on:
>1.Diet affects neurodevelopment.
>1. Neurodevelopment and cell migration are clearly affected by

nutritio.
>Neurons have very high metabolic needs and are sensitive to

nutritional
>status. This is best known by the effect on maternal folate status

on nural
>tube defects. Which bodily tissue do you think would be most

sensitive o
>lifetime nutritional status? I'd vote for neural tissue.

What brain needs most urgently and without any interruption
is its glucose fuel.
A short break of only minutes in the glucose supply (hypoglykemie?)
will cause the first brain cells to die.
Recently i read, that brain cells are swelling up in the attempt
to increase their surface by up to 60 percent, if there is a fuel
shortage, also if the vitamins b1 and b2 , biotin were missung.
Oh boy i wouldn't want my brain cells to go through such a turture.
Ok, which foods make the best glucose and B-type vitamins supply?
It's remarkable that grass seeds are superior in this property.

>2..3
I think so too.

>4. The biggest change in brain size has been a reduction from 1500

cc pior
>to the time of the agricultural revolution to 1350 cc . This is diet

reated
>not genetic.
This developement needn't be exactely diet related.
I think ther are other more important factors.
Your time table does include hominids, different from us:
Homo erectus and Neanderthals.

>Years ago. Cranial capacity (cc)
>current  worldwide         1349
>10000-21000                1466    should be H/G Cro Magnon
>21000-35000                1517     may be Neanderthal or Cro Magnon
>36000-75000                1498     must be Neanderthal
>90000                      1501     must be Neanderthal
>100000-150000              1354     may  be Neanderthal or earlier

So, your time table includes the decrease from Neanderthal
to Cro Magnon, had a similar way of living and diet (in the north).
Neanderthals had a bigger brain but aren't reported to have been
exately intelligent.
No art, slow tool developement, possibly no or little speech.
Further, if there's a decrease between 21000 and 10000 (only Cro

Magnon)
what would be the dietary reasons? These people were gatherers
and huntes.
What reason had the Neanderthals an especially big brain for?
I've heared that possibly the brain could have increased for the need
to provide a reserve of brain cells if some were beginning to
fail ("malfunction":-) if running in the desert.
At least only a few percent of brain-cells is actually in use (15%).
The rest may be a backup for further learning, or against a loss.

>4. There is no doubt that brain size fell on the Neolithic Diet.

from aound
>1500 cc to 1350 cc.

oes
Well there is some doubt left, because your table actually doesn't
show neolithic time changes (may be from 15000 to 2000 bc).
>current  worldwide         1349
>10000-21000                1466    should be H/G Cro Magnon

Looking at the "backup" aspect, the better fueled neolithic brains
might indeed evolve to require less backup and a smaller space.
The brain cell size is to be  considered too. The actual capacity
comes from the number of neurons and the count of interconnetions
between them. Bigger brain cells require more space for less neurons.
Since brain cells contain fuel storages, bigger brain cells may be
be able to survive glucose shortages a longer time.

>So what effect does this have on I.Q., what effect

oes
>this have on behaviour? HUGE in my opinion.
Brain size of todays living humans is *not* linked to the I.Q.
Or what would you tell Mr. Einstein, with a tremendous I.Q. and
a rather small brain.
Or what would you say that women, which have average measurable
smaller brains, have a smaller I.Q.? I don't think so.

>What advice are you going to give someone whose child is affected by
>neurodevelopmental insult?eg lead poisoning, autism. Perhaps a

paleodiet
>could be considered. If you have a better neurodevelopmental diet,

please
>let me know.
I do *not* feel able to give such an advice.
Just some facts are sure or look probable to me.

1.Intoxication with heavy metals (lead, mercury) has to be avoided
under any circumstances. Heavy metals damage the brain.
Besides avoiding foods comeing from poisoned landscapes this
encourages eating at the *low* end of the food chain.
Heavy metals accumulate in animals with the size and age of animals.
Small fish are better, as jean-claude pointed out.
2.a good w-3 fat supply may enhance the brains functions or otherwise
the brain will "downgrade" to w-6 fat derived molecules, which
function somewhat "less efficient" (who has references on that???)
3.Low-glucose supply for the brain (hypoglycemie) must be avoided.
Low-glucose can be *caused* by sweets and sugars (after some hours).
A low glucose supply will be caused by B-vitamin shortages.

just some puzzle stones...

regards
Amadeus

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