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

You did a great job on this fact check! You went above and beyond when considering that you introduced related points outside of the main claim, which really diversified your evidence when consdering whether or not this was a factual claim.

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That is a really brilliant analysis. You have gone one step further into the source article and really highlighted some of its possible limitations, especially in the lack of data over a long period. Fascinating to point out how it pertains to ice cream consumption with regard to how the brain works because of the statistical evidence presented.

It is, however, important to put the findings into a wider context. Was this, for instance, a one-off study by the Institute of Psychology in London, or did they start doing research into the nutritional effects of mental health? Furthermore, sample size and diversity are likely to impact perceived reliability of the results.

It would be even more helpful to find out whether other studies have replicated these findings or if there is some common agreement among the scientific community regarding this topic. While the initial study was promising, it was only after a better investigation into the matter that any person would find any actual knowledge on the specific topic of how ice cream affects brain activity.

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Good job showing the long-term risks ice cream poses despite short-term brain boosts. One question I have is; is the study reliable? It’s not clear if it’s peer-reviewed or uses strong controls.

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You did an amazing job on this fact-check! You did an exceptional job sharing all important parts of the study and addressing them thoroughly. You went above and beyond diving into other areas of the study that were not fully covered previously, amazing fact-check.

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This is a thorough and insightful fact-check! You’ve done a great job analyzing the study and questioning its reliability by pointing out potential limitations, such as the lack of long-term data and whether the findings have been replicated. It’s particularly helpful that you highlighted the need for peer review and further research to confirm the claims about ice cream and cognitive performance. Expanding the discussion to include broader nutritional studies or comparisons with other breakfast options would add even more depth. Great work overall!

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. 

Comments

I agree, for the most part, with your statement. That is false but I think you could have been a bit less one-sided with your factcheck. There are factors if you have the right gelato that could be healthy with less sugar added that could be healthy, good job overall, though.

Answer 4

Your fact seems to be true. After reading your attached article and and some others it seems like eating ice cream for breakfast has a lot of benefits for the human body and especially the brain. It was an interesting and fun research to do as I love ice cream and this fact might be a way to start eating for breakfast!!

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

Answer 5

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.”

Answer 6

After researching this claim the answer to the question, Does eating ice cream for breakfast make you smarter?, is yes and no. Studies show that those who ate ice cream for breakfast did have increased reaction time and processed information fast. The same experiment was performed but now with ice cold water and the results did not compare. This is reliable as those tests were performed by Professor Yoshihiko Koga, a professor who studies psychophysiology.  I say yes and no as an answer because another study demonstrates what kind of stimulation goes on in the mind when eating ice cream. Researches at the Institute of Psychology performed a study where they scanned peoples brains as they eat ice cream and found that ice cream stimulates the same pleasure centers that are related to happiness. It is common knowledge between scientists that happiness in general improves overall brain functions. The only thing that should people should be worried about when eating ice cream for breakfast is the sugar content levels. This claim is both true and false.

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

Answer 7

Though it does seem as if this claim is true, other facts need to be considered to make such a claim. Reasonable arguments were for why this might be backed up, but when you look at other factors and make different comparisons, ice cream might not be the new go-to breakfast food. Utilizing the original article that was linked makes it clear that ice cream is not what you should be consuming as soon as you wake up, nor sugar in the first place. Not only is it clearly stated that ice cream should not be eaten for breakfast, but the article also points out how brain function is actually better long term with less sugar intake. In the second article linked from the Telegraph, the key is that the comparison is done between people who had eaten ice cream and people who didn’t, which is the key part, eating and not eating. The second trial was done based on the temperature of the ice cream, so the second time around they compared those who ate ice cream and those who drank cold water, again, eating versus not eating. This was explored further into the article by a nutritionist who had some skepticism and explained how high glucose meals will increase brain function and comparing that to groups who hadn’t would clearly make those who had ice cream perform better. Another thing to consider are the mental exercises done on the computer which were never explained in further detail so how can they be a true determinant of one's intelligence? Unfortunately in the end it is clear that ice cream may have positive, short-term effects compared to those who don’t eat anything, but cannot be supported with enough accurate data to claim eating ice cream for breakfast makes you more intelligent. 

Answer 8

The article's claim that eating ice cream for breakfast will make you smarter is false. The article tries to justify their claim but ends up at the opposite conclusion, that eating ice cream for breakfast will lead to cognitive health problems such as depression, reduced brain function, and increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The study that the article sources conducted tests of people's reaction time, but this may have been enhanced due to the sugar consumption and doesn't necessarily correlate to increased intelligence.

Answer 9

According to the claim, eating ice cream for breakfast will make you smarter. This is false, and can be proven wrong by the sourced article. Inc says that while the ice cream did show improved reaction times and boosted brain function, ice cream overall is bad for your health in the long term. The high amount of sugar can lead to higher risk of depression and  reduced brain function. The study claims that this boosted brain function is due to the ice cream but IFL Science says  two groups were studied, one control and one that ate the ice cream. The control did not receive breakfast at all compared to the ice cream group. This fact is more likely the reason that the ice cream showed better results as to the control group. Studies have shown that not having breakfast can reduce brain function and reaction times.

Inc

IFL Science

Answer 10

The claim made in the headline of the actual article seems to be much less misleading than "Eating Ice Cream For Breakfast Makes You Smarter". It may have a similar implication, but by saying "Does Eating Ice Cream for Breakfast Make You Smarter? Maybe, But Don't Make a Habit of it." is both less assertive and more responsible as a headline. Readers often only skim the headline of an article before sharing, which makes the inclusion of the latter half good. The article itself claims that while there may be a correlation, there is not enough proof to suggest that ice cream increases mental alertness, as well as the inclusion of the opposing view from Business Insider urging readers to make healthy decisions.