For some years now we've heard “you are what you eat,” but many of us assumed that adage referred only to our physical health. Healthier food = healthier body. But a new research study from the University of Alberta demonstrates that eating certain foods helps the brain's ability to learn. While this comes as no surprise to most teachers, it is heartening to see it quantified by researchers.

The team, led by Dr. Paul J. Veugelers, surveyed more than 5,000 fifth-graders in Canada, collecting information on diet, height, and weight to determine a Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I) score. The students who ate more fruits, vegetables, grains, and less fat had the healthiest DQI-I, and those who ate more saturated fat and salt had the least healthy DQI-I. (Are you still with me?) Dr. Veugelers' team then compared the DQI-I results with standardized literary performance. The results were impressive: The students with the healthiest DQI-I were 41% more likely to perform well on the literacy test.

The study's authors feel their results support investing in school nutrition programs to improve academic performance as well as health. I agree: Let's keep making strides in improving our students and giving them every tool they need to succeed, starting from the inside out.