Eating ice cream for breakfast makes you smarter, say Japanese scientists

Finally you have justification for all those almond Magnum wrappers around your bed as Japanese scientists – god fucking bless you, Japan – have found that consuming ice cream for breakfast is good for your brain. 

Ice cream has been about for yonks. During the 5th century BC, ancient Greeks ate snow mixed with honey and fruit in the markets of Athens, a bit like rudimentary slushies, and Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, encouraged his Ancient Greek patients to eat ice "as it livens the lifejuices and increases the well-being”. Good lad, that Hippo bloke. Lot of good ideas.

Yoshihiko Koga, a professor at Tokyo's Kyorin University, carried out a series of clinical trials where subjects were required to eat ice cream immediately after waking up and found that “brain activity revealed an increase in high-frequency alpha waves, which are linked to elevated levels of alertness and reduced mental irritation”.

Reduced mental irritation? With my housemates? Yoshihko, pal, sign me up. 

“But what are high-frequency alpha waves?” we hear you ask. Well, alpha waves are the “normal” electrical activity of the brain when conscious and relaxed, and have been linked to reductions in depression and increased creativity.

Good stuff. Let’s break out the Viennetta. 

(Picture: Flickr)