Most parents understand how important it is for their children to have a diet that features the right mix of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein and dairy products. While these healthy foods can be good for children's bodies, new research from Australia’s University of Adelaide shows they can also benefit their minds.

Over the course of the study, researchers set out to see how more than 7,000 children’s eating habits at 6 months, 15 months and 2 years of age influenced their IQ when they reached the age of 8.

According to the study’s results, which appear online in the "European Journal of Epidemiology," kids who were breastfed at six months and regularly dined on healthy options, such as fruits, vegetables, cheese and legumes at 15 and 24 months were found to have an IQ that was two points higher than subjects who did not by the time they were 8 years old. Those who snacked on chocolates, lollipops, biscuits, chips and soft drinks during the same time period had an IQ that was two points lower at age 8.

"While the differences in IQ are not huge, this study provides some of the strongest evidence to date that dietary patterns from six to 24 months have a small but significant effect on IQ at 8 years of age," said Lisa Smithers, who led the study.

If parents think their children’s eating habits are doing more harm than good, they can always have them sit for an IQ test for kids.

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