Kids who eat whole grains for breakfast do better on tests than those who eat sugary cereals such as Cap'n Crunch, a new study in the August journal Physiology and Behavior finds.
This is just the latest in a string of research studies that show children who consume that first meal of the day do better in school, points out The Los Angeles Times.
Researchers from Tufts University psychologists conducted two experiments with 60 schoolchildren — one group aged 6 to 8 and another 9 to 11.
Sure enough, both groups showed major learning improvement eating the oatmeal over eating Cap'n Crunch.
The 9-to-11-year boys and girls showed enhanced spatial memory and girls demonstrated better short-term memory after chomping on oatmeal.
And the oatmeal-eating 6 to 8 year-olds had better spatial memory and better auditory attention and girls exhibited better short-term memory.
Interestingly, Quaker Oats — maker of both products used in the study — funded the research.
Researchers suggest that the mixture of protein, fiber and complex carbs may account for the differences in test performances.
The researchers believe that "oatmeal may provide a slower and more sustained energy source and consequently result in cognitive enhancement compared to low-fiber, high-glycemic, ready-to-eat cereal," the researchers observe.
"These results have important practical implications, suggesting the importance of what children consume for breakfast before school."
In other words, what you eat can affect how you think and perform.
Well, I'm certainly happy that this study was conducted — and I'm particularly pleased that Quaker Foods backed it — but really, it reveals nothing new.
Much as people like to sneer at people still following a low-carb diet and insist that low carb is dead, it — and, in particular, Atkins — played a vital role in making the public at large realize that there are good carbs and bad carbs. (I prefer to call them quality carbs and inferior carbs.)
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