The claim that “eating ice cream for breakfast will make you smarter” is an exaggerated and misleading takeaway from Minda Zetlin’s article. In “Does Eating Ice Cream for Breakfast Make You Smarter? Maybe, but Don’t Make a Habit of It,” Zetlin considers the immediate and prolonged effects of high sugar intake when you first wake up. After consulting with multiple scientific studies, she ultimately concludes that sugar decreases cognitive processing in the long run.
This article was published by Inc.com, a website focused on personal success and business. Minda Zetlin, the author, is a well-known speaker and writer on running a startup or small business. She lacks a scientific background but holds journalistic credibility through her 22-year membership in the American Society of Journalists and Authors.
The main source for this article was a study produced by a Kyorin University professor, Yoshihiko Koga, in Tokyo. Some substantial limitations of this reference are that it was written in Japanese, and I cannot find the study or replications of it in any scientific journals. I wasn’t able to find a list of citations, calling the credibility into question.
Zetlin initially refers to the Japanese study, demonstrating how ice cream improved subjects' reaction times when performing tasks on a computer. She validates this conclusion by explaining how high-glucose food can “aid mental capacity significantly compared to not eating.” However, I did appreciate Zetlin’s mention of long-term impacts on the brain. Less sugar is better for your body and mental functions when analyzed over many years. She further concludes excessive sugar over a life span “will increase your risk of depression, reduce your brain function, and make you more susceptible to Alzheimer's.”