Eating Ice Cream for Breakfast Makes You Smarter

Question

According to the Telegraph story, subjects were told to eat ice cream upon first awakening, and then had their mental acuity tested by performing tasks on a computer. Those who'd eaten ice cream performed better and had faster reaction times, researchers found.

Comments

This claim does appear to be true. After reading both the linked article, and reading a similar article by CBS News, it seems to be true that eating icecream in the morning improves reaction times and boosts mental performance. In the study they repeated the experiment with cold water instead of icecream. They found that while cold water did boost mental performance, it was not as much as the icecream had. However, this claim left out a very important part of the article. The Inc. article actually goes on to say that eating icecream for breakfast is a "really bad idea." In the long run sugar will "increase your risk of depression, reduce your brain function, and make you more susceptible to Alzheimer's." So while icecream does temporarily boost your mental performance in the morning, this does not mean that you should in fact do this. It will decrease your mental performance in the long run. Just eat healthy in the morning. It will increase your mental performance over time.

https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/does-eating-ice-cream-for-breakfast-make-you-smarter-maybe-but-dont-make-a-habit.html#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Telegraph%20story,faster%20reaction%20times%2C%20researchers%20found.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/study-ice-cream-for-breakfast-boosts-brain-performance/

---

It's valuable that you researched the claim and read another similar article by CBS News to see if the claim was supported by other journalists. In addition, you acknowledged the elaboration in the article to show a more balanced portrayal of the study. I feel like it would be helpful to read the actual study that prompted the article, as this would give a more thorough look into the research methods, full conclusions, and possible shortcomings of the study.

---

Your fact-check on the ice cream study was fascinating, especially the part about improved reaction times. However, I think it's important to consider the potential placebo effect. Were the subjects aware of the supposed benefits of ice cream before the test? This awareness could have influenced their performance. Additionally, it would be helpful to know if the study compared ice cream to other breakfast foods to rule out the possibility that any food might have a similar effect.

---

I really enjoyed your factcheck on this claim. Especially when it comes to the discovery that the consumption of ice cream in the morning may actually, though only temporarily, increase reaction time. I am glad that you included the risks of long-term consumption of high amounts of sugar, and why one absolutely should not eat ice cream for breakfast every morning. Though I agree that this is something that you should not do, I feel that, in relation to the effect of coldness on reaction time, I think it is extremely important to consider the possibility of the placebo effect. Were the subjects of the study made aware of the "benefits" of the ice cream before they took the test? If so, this could have had a huge impact over the observed "effects."

---

This is an intriguing discovery, but I believe we should do further research before drawing any firm conclusions. Many questions remain unsolved due to the design of the study. For instance, how can we be certain that the ice cream was the cause of the increased reaction times? Could people's immediate energy boost from eating something after waking up have been more significant than the ice cream? It's difficult to determine whether ice cream actually has a special effect on mental function or if it's just the boost you'd get from any delicious meal without answering these questions.

---

This is a very unique take on breakfast that I have not seen before, and while I agree ice cream is amazing and I'd love to have it for breakfast I don't think it would be very sustainable and lead to a healthier lifestyle. I'm now interested to know what the best breakfast foods are in terms of mental performance boosts to see if I can incorporate any into my routine.

---

This claim especially is one that people aren't likely to believe because no way icecream could make you smarter. I appreciate how you researched this claim and then continued to read more after. The data in your article seems this to be true but part of me also wonders if this is just placebo affect.

---

I liked that you were able to find the important parts. That person did not find it. “In the long run sugar will "increase your risk of depression, reduce your brain function, and make you more susceptible to Alzheimer's”. Really important to note those risk that it comes with.

---

I liked how you not only brought up the points they made in the article and similar sources but how you also gave us new and relevant information. I think it's great that you let us know about the possible negative side effects of eating icecream for breakfast, instead of only talking about the positives.

---

You did an amazing job listing not only your evidence but also your sources that you got your additional information from. You were not only able to acknowledge the stated points in this article, but brought up other different points that weren't even mentioned to begin with. Linking some of those same points that were said in to your another article of CBS News, you brought together that evidence for conclusion. I would like have had it compared to another food rather than feeling since ice is more of an external body thing than an internal body thing.

Answer 1

The original claim that eating ice cream in the morning makes you smarter is a little exaggerated. The first study I could find was conducted by neuroscientists in London in 2005, and although it does seem to boost brain performance in the early hours after you wake up, it doesn't necessarily prove anything that it makes you an overall smarter human being. I think the scientists are correct with the idea that ingesting something cold, as well as something with sugar will increase humans ability to do tasks in the morning. However, the article doesn't mention what specific tasks people are improving on when they eat ice cream in the morning. I would say that the claim that eating ice cream for breakfast makes you smarter is exaggerated and misleading.

Answer 2

After checking out a few articles from The Telegraph and The Independent, it seems like eating ice cream in the morning can give you a quick mental boost. Apparently, a study showed that people who had ice cream for breakfast had better reaction times and brain performance compared to those who just drank cold water. But here's the catch: this effect is only short-term.

Experts warn that making ice cream your go-to breakfast isn’t a great idea in the long run. According to Healthline, eating sugary foods like ice cream regularly can mess with your brain health over time, increasing your chances of depression and cognitive issues. So while it might be fun to try once in a while, it's better to stick to healthy breakfasts, like fruit or whole grains, for lasting brain benefits.

Sources:

• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/23/eating-ice-cream-breakfast-improves-mental-performance-study-fin/
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/ice-cream-breakfast-brain-performance-study-a7433096.html
• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-sugar-impacts-your-brain

Answer 3

I find this claim to be false for reasons of just general common sense. The very last thing you should do is have sugar first thing in the morning. According to Katie Barfoot, a nutritional researcher, “...high glucose (sugar) foods will indeed aid mental capacity significantly compared to not eating.” Although she has a point, and that eating ice cream is better than not eating at all, it still isn’t true. We need nutrients in the morning, actual protein in order to power our brains so that we can function and learn–ice cream doesn’t do that.