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[A1CR]

[posted on behalf of MR; 2001-07-23]

Dean wrote:
>
> Khurram wrote:

> > He is a Zonie yet he does not
> > follow Sears'
> > suggestion in having a meal/snack within 0.5hr of awakening.
> > I wonder if
> > detoxification is more important than staying in the
> > hormonally correct Zone?
>
> The same for me. After I wake up, I work out first, and end up not eating
> for several hours after rising. This seems to work well for me.

MR responds:

Dunno 'bout detoxification, but failure to eat breakfast makes you wacko
& stoopid.

(1) studied the breakfast habits of "...262 volunteers aged between 21
and 85 years, mean age: 60.9 years... The results showed that those who
consumed breakfast cereal every day reported better mental and physical
health than those who consumed it less frequently. This association was
still present when demographic factors [including] other aspects of diet were
covaried."

"... volunteers ... were assigned to one of the groups formed by
combining breakfast (cereal versus no breakfast) and
caffeine (caffeinated versus decaffeinated coffee) conditions. The
volunteers completed a baseline session between 0800 and 0845 h. The
breakfast/caffeine administration took place between 0845 and 0915 h.
They then completed another test session ... The results showed that
those who consumed breakfast cereal had a more positive mood at the
start of the test sessions,
performed better on a spatial memory task, and felt calmer at the end of
the test session than those in the no breakfast condition. Ingestion of
caffeine had no effect on initial mood or working memory, but it did
improve encoding of new
information and counteracted the fatigue that developed over the test
session." (3)

"in a general population sample ... Individuals who consumed a cereal
breakfast each day were less depressed, less emotionally distressed and
had lower levels of perceived stress than those who did not eat
breakfast each day. ... the relationship
between cereal breakfast consumption and mental health did not reflect
... differences in the smoking, alcohol consumption and diet."(4)

"The relationship between breakfast cereal consumption and intelligence was
examined in a sample of 205 adults aged between 60 and 79 years. Those who
consumed breakfast cereal every day had a higher mean score (38.4) on the
National Adult Reading Test, known to correlate highly with
intelligence, than
that (M = 34.7) for the irregular breakfast eaters" (5)

"This article compares the findings of three studies that explored the
role of
increased blood glucose in improving memory function for subjects who ate
breakfast. An initial improvement in memory function for these subjects was
found to correlate with blood glucose concentrations. In subsequent studies,
morning fasting was found to adversely affect the ability to recall a
word list
and a story read aloud, as well as recall items while counting backwards.
Failure to eat breakfast did not affect performance on an intelligence
test. It
was concluded that breakfast consumption preferentially influences tasks
requiring aspects of memory. In the case of both word list recall and memory
while counting backwards, the decline in performance associated with not eating
breakfast was reversed by the consumption of a glucose-supplemented drink.
Although a morning fast also affected the ability to recall a story read aloud,
the glucose drink did not reverse this decline. It appears that breakfast
consumption influences cognition via several mechanisms, including an increase
in blood glucose." (6)

No, I am not calling you guys wacko or stupid !

-MR

1: Smith AP.
Breakfast cereal consumption and subjective reports of health.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 1999 Nov;50(6):445-9.
PMID: 10719585 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

2: Lluch A, Hubert P, King NA, Blundell JE.
Selective effects of acute exercise and breakfast interventions on mood and
motivation to eat.
Physiol Behav. 2000 Feb;68(4):515-20.
PMID: 10713292 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

3: Smith AP, Clark R, Gallagher J.
Breakfast cereal and caffeinated coffee: effects on working memory, attention,
mood, and cardiovascular function.
Physiol Behav. 1999 Aug 1;67(1):9-17.
PMID: 10463623 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4: Smith AP.
Breakfast and mental health.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 1998 Sep;49(5):397-402.
PMID: 10367010 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

5: Smith A.
Breakfast consumption and intelligence in elderly persons.
Psychol Rep. 1998 Apr;82(2):424-6.
PMID: 9621714 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6: Benton D, Parker PY.
Breakfast, blood glucose, and cognition.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1998 Apr;67(4):772S-778S.
PMID: 9537627 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]