We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day as it highly influences how we perform mentally and physically. But, a recent discovery by a Japanese scientist has shown that consuming a particular sweet treat in the morning can even improve a person’s alertness and mental performance.
According to the results of the study of Kyorin University professor Yoshihiko Koga, eating ice cream for breakfast can actually make you smarter. Koga carried out a series of clinical tests in which subjects were instructed to eat ice cream immediately after waking up. The test subjects were then put through a series of mental tests on a computer.
Based on the results of the tests, those who consumed ice cream in the morning had faster reaction times and better information-processing capabilities compared to those who didn’t. The findings of the study also showed that those who started their day with the sweet treat exhibited an increase in high-frequency alpha waves in their brain activity. These waves are associated with increased levels of alertness and decreased mental irritation.
Koga also explored the possibility that the subjects’ reaction were caused by the brain being shocked into higher levels of alertness by the cold temperature of the ice cream. To do this, he conducted the same experiment using cold water instead of ice cream.
While the subjects who drank cold water did exhibit a degree of elevated alertness and mental capacity, the levels were significantly lower than those who ate ice cream.
However, some British nutritionists are skeptic of Koga’s findings. Katie Barfoot, a Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher at Reading University, said that a possible explanation for elevated alertness is the simple presence of eating breakfast versus not consuming breakfast.
"Our brain needs glucose to function, and a high glucose meal will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain,” Barfoot explained.
Barfoot suggested that further research must be carried out to explore the interaction between the consumption of low and high GI foods that will include a fasted group. According to her, this would establish a better understanding of the increased mental capacity.
--Mini, The Summit Express
According to the results of the study of Kyorin University professor Yoshihiko Koga, eating ice cream for breakfast can actually make you smarter. Koga carried out a series of clinical tests in which subjects were instructed to eat ice cream immediately after waking up. The test subjects were then put through a series of mental tests on a computer.
Based on the results of the tests, those who consumed ice cream in the morning had faster reaction times and better information-processing capabilities compared to those who didn’t. The findings of the study also showed that those who started their day with the sweet treat exhibited an increase in high-frequency alpha waves in their brain activity. These waves are associated with increased levels of alertness and decreased mental irritation.
Koga also explored the possibility that the subjects’ reaction were caused by the brain being shocked into higher levels of alertness by the cold temperature of the ice cream. To do this, he conducted the same experiment using cold water instead of ice cream.
While the subjects who drank cold water did exhibit a degree of elevated alertness and mental capacity, the levels were significantly lower than those who ate ice cream.
However, some British nutritionists are skeptic of Koga’s findings. Katie Barfoot, a Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher at Reading University, said that a possible explanation for elevated alertness is the simple presence of eating breakfast versus not consuming breakfast.
"Our brain needs glucose to function, and a high glucose meal will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain,” Barfoot explained.
Barfoot suggested that further research must be carried out to explore the interaction between the consumption of low and high GI foods that will include a fasted group. According to her, this would establish a better understanding of the increased mental capacity.
--Mini, The Summit Express
