Are vegans more intelligent?

Question

According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association and the Los Angeles Times the average I.Q. of nonvegan kids is 99 and 116 for vegan kids.

me, actually I heard vegans emit less odor in part because they do not have all kinds of foreign hormones, i.e. growth hormones, etc, running around their bodies. In fact I never use deodorant any more and have not heard one complaint.

Bubba Gump, the source is from a scientic study not simply rhetoric.

FreedomLover, actually I graduated from college years ago. This study is not something I find hard to believe as my mind has cleared up immensely by living a vegan lifestyle. It is a proven fact you can increase you I.Q. via various means, one of them being diet.

burney, you actually brought up some good points which may influence some of the % points but I do not think it acounts for a 17 point difference. I know from experience that I have more energy, am more clear headed, and am less prone to depression and other illness. It does not take a brain surgeon to see that these factors can and do influence I.Q. tests. Does this mean all nonvegans are stupid? No, yes you have a masters so you must have some academic intelligence. Intelligence has a lot to do with genetics. Lets say you are a genius with a 190 I.Q. Well by going vegan in the proper way you could potentially increase your I.Q. all the way up to 200. This is not an either or scenario but more so a matter of amping up what you already have in potential.

Kevin Major ..., you can be vegan and eat nothing but potato chips and yeah you'll be less intelligent for doing so. However if you eat optimumly vegan vs. optimumly omnivorous I'd bet my dollars to your donuts any day that the vegan would be healthier than the omnivore.

I am so lost...maybe if you went vegan you could spell stereotype, or at least have the energy to look it up if you didn't.

my2bigdogs4me, some how you are saying that the more affluent are chosing to be vegetarian. Hmmm, why do you think that is?

moviegirl, I like your statement that essencially says that Vegan children are taught morality ever time they eat. Many children are not exposed to moral issues as much as they should be. Remember Columbine? These older children first practiced their deeds on animals. I'd bet if they were raised vegan non of those things would have happened.

it seems many might agree than vegan kids are more intelligent but not necessarily because of the diet but because of other qualities like education, genetics, affluence, and will power. We are really begging the question now which can first the chicken or the egg. Opps, or should I say the soy bean or the plant.

Answer 1

Listen "ME", we do not have stinky farts, just loud ones! Anyways, ask me this question again when my 1 year old turns 10. I'm raising her vegan too.

Answer 2

it would depend on the samples they used for the research

A much larger % of the US population is nonvegan, so it is going to encompass the full spectrum of IQs

I would imagine, many (if not most) vegans are well educated and have a flexible if not disposable income. (I'm not vegan and I have a masters degree...so this is not bias talking).

So, if more vegan parents have higher educations and have a bit more money to invest in their children, then the sample for research would be tainted.

Plus - and this is completely a hunch...I would guess vegans would be a bit more anal rententive and would be trying to drill ABCs and academics at an earlier age with children. (More discovery channel and less Caillou)

---

I would also think that if parents are particular enough to go to the effort to put their children on a vegan diet, they would also be cautious about sugars/white flours. And I am certain there is a plus there.

Again, it would be interesting to know what controls they used in the study

Answer 3

You shouldn't stop wanting to be vegan just because some people are judgemental in a certain group. Whether they are vegan or non-vegan, there's always a chance the person will be arrogant, ignorant, and judge others. If you really want to be vegan then you should do so regardless of how other vegans act. Their personalities says nothing about you.

Answer 4

No, and studies have shown that with the lack of protein, vegans are more prone to get certain conditions like osteoporosis.


"Kevin Major ..., you can be vegan and eat nothing but potato chips and yeah you'll be less intelligent for doing so. However if you eat optimumly vegan vs. optimumly omnivorous I'd bet my dollars to your donuts any day that the vegan would be healthier than the omnivore."


But due to the lack of protein and other minerals, the body is not able to carry out certain functions as efficiently as omnivores.

PS, Not to make fun or anything like that, but invest in a good spell checking program. "optimumly" = optimally

Answer 5

"Although the general health and development of vegan and vegetarian children seem to be normal, there may be subtle differences compared with omnivores. They are at increased risk of iron deficiency, and impaired psychomotor development associated with iron deficiency has been reported in macrobiotic infants. Fortunately, this impairment is not permanent, and follow-up studies have reported higher-than-average intelligence quotients among older macrobiotic children. Several other hazards of vegetarian diets have been identified, including vitamin B12 deficiency, rickets, and a bulky diet that can restrict energy intake in the first few years of life; however, these pitfalls can be avoided easily, and children can be successfully reared on vegetarian diets." (1)

A difference of 17 IQ points is much too high to be based on diet alone, in my opinion. I agree with the above poster about the sample population involved. It takes a lot of effort, education, and awareness to be vegan and therefore vegan parents are more likely to be educated and have higher IQ's. That said, a vegan diet without education and awareness could lead to severe nutritional deficiencies - especially in the early developmental years - which would, without a doubt, cause intellectual disabilities.

Answer 6

No, they are misinformed.

I think the less intelligent part of the population is less likely to become vegetarian, because it is usually the more ethically or health minded people, who are as a rule more intelligent, who become vegetarians. Note that I am not saying that a vegetarian diet is more ethical or healthy, I don't think it is, but that seems to be the general consensus these days. To put it another way, slobs who live in council houses, smoke, binge drink, do drugs and beat people up on street corners aren't likely to suddenly give up meat, either for ethical or health reasons.
I don't think for a second that their diet is the cause of their intelligence.

Answer 7

I don't think they're smarter because they're vegans. I think the kids in school that tend to be vegan are the health conscious ones and they're probably the "gifted" ones of their school, more or less. They're apt to exercise not just their body, but their brain, explaining why people on those sort of diets do better than the rest of us. Just my thought though. Cheers!

Answer 8

I would believe that vegan kids are smarter, but they are also more ethical. They are taught right and wrong by their parents while they are eating, something most kids aren't taught at all anymore. They have more discussions with their parents about sameness and difference and they learn to accept all people, not just the ones like them.

Answer 9

no they just act that way but in the long run when we all die from heart attacks and the vegans are left here they wont live too long because they will develop diseases like osteoperosis, that are prevented from eating meats. Plus I am not one to waste my ancestors getting to the top of the food chain on some damn spinach.

Answer 10

yes because im a veggeterian and only eat cheese and icecream for dairy. I'm really smart except at math and science but i excell at foreign language history geography english vocabulary drama reading etc......

Answer 11

Ask your science teacher about the difference between Causation and Correlation.