mmalabanan
The findings of a study of a Japanese scientist may give you a reason to start your day with a sweet treat.
Eating ice cream immediately after waking up may actually make you smarter, according to Yoshihiko Koga, a professor at Tokyo’s Kyorin University.
In his research, Koga asked his test subjects to consume ice cream in the morning. He then subjected them to a series of mental exercises on a computer. Another group who had normal breakfast was tested.
According to Koga, the subjects at the ice cream group had faster reaction times and performed better at processing new information. After examining the subjects’ brain activity, he also found that ice cream eaters had an abundance of high-frequency Alpha-waves, which are related with high alertness and reduced mental irritation.
To verify if ice cream eaters have simply been shocked into high alert by the ice cream’s freezing temperature, he tested another group whom he gave a cold glass of water as soon as they woke up.
The subjects did exhibit boosted alertness as well as mental capacity, but their levels failed to reach those of the ice cream eaters.
One British nutritionist reacted with criticism, saying that a possible explanation for increased alertness is the “simple presence of consuming breakfast vs not consuming breakfast”.
Katie Barfoot, a Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher at Reading University, explained that our brain needs glucose to function and a high glucose meal will aid mental capacity significantly compared to a fasted brain.
”This, however, does not condone eating dessert for breakfast. A study which explores the interaction between consumption of low and high GI foods, whilst including a fasted group, would establish a better understanding of this increased mental capacity,” Barfoot added.
