After chocolate, new study claims ice cream good for breakfast

Ice cream has been accused of being contributors to obesity because of its sugar content. In South Korea, a local brand of ice cream, Gyeondyo-bar, made of raisin tree fruit juice and grapefruit flavor, is being used as a cure for hangover, while the cold treat is now being pushed as a good breakfast food.

The basis of that claim is an alleged study by a researcher from Kyorin University in Tokyo who says ice cream provides people a mental boost. The basis of that claim is an experiment in which two groups of volunteers were made to complete several test on a computer.

One group was given ice cream and the other group was given cold water. Members of the group who ate ice cream performed better on the tests, Refinery 29 reports. More than just the test results, Yoshihiko Koga, the Kyorin University professor who conducted the study, allegedly measured also the brain activities of the subjects.

Those who ate ice cream showed more high-frequency alpha waves, correlated with heightened alertness. But the professor still has to figure out the ingredients in ice cream that boosted the brain power of the volunteers.

However, Katie Barfoot, a nutritional psychology doctoral researcher, points out that the human brain needs glucose to function. She says a high-glucose meal would help mental capacity considerably compared to the brain of a person who fasted, The Telegraph reports.

But Business Insider doubts the study made by Koga. The reason behind its doubt is Refinery 29 based its article on a story published on Nov 17 by Excite.co.kp, a Japanese website which failed to link the study allegedly made by the Kyorin University researcher.

Moreover, Excite says Koga’s study was made with an unnamed sweets company as his partner which made the results dubious because of the possible conflict of interest. A Google search on “Yoshihiko Koga” shows he has authored several scientific papers on brain function but none on ice cream.