早餐吃冰淇淋讓你變聰明
In a discovery that will give nutritionists the shivers, a Japanese scientist has discovered that consuming ice cream for breakfast improves a person's alertness and mental performance.
一位日本科學家的發現讓營養學家們“不寒而慄”，他稱，早餐攝入冰淇淋可以改善一個人的機敏度和思維表現。
Yoshihiko Koga, a professor at Tokyo's Kyorin University, has carried out a series of clinical trials in which test subjects were required to eat ice cream immediately after waking up.
東京杏林大學教授古賀佳彥進行了一系列臨牀實驗，他要求測試者起牀後立刻食用冰淇淋。
They were then put through a series of mental exercises on a computer.
隨後讓他們在電腦上進行一系列腦力測試。
Compared to a group that had not eaten ice cream, Prof Koga's subjects exhibited faster reaction times and better information-processing capabilities, the Excite News web site reported.
據Excite News網站報道，古賀佳彥發現，與沒有攝入冰淇淋的一組相比，攝入冰淇淋的測試者反應速度更快，且處理信息的能力更強。
Monitoring of the subjects' brain activity revealed an increase in high-frequency alpha waves, which are linked to elevated levels of alertness and reduced mental irritation.
監視顯示，測試者大腦活動中的高頻α波有所增加，這種腦波與提高靈敏度和降低精神刺激有關。
To examine the possibility that the test subjects' reactions were simply the result of the brain being shocked into higher levels of alertness by the low temperature of the ice cream, Prof Koga repeated the experiment with cold water instead of ice cream.
爲了證明測試者的反應僅僅是因爲大腦受到冰淇淋的低溫刺激後靈敏度進入較高水平，古賀佳彥用冰水代替冰淇淋再次進行試驗。
Test subjects who drank cold water did display a degree of increased alertness and mental capacity, although the levels were markedly lower than among subjects who started the day with ice cream.
喝冰水的受試者其靈敏度和思維能力的確有所提升，但是提升的水平明顯低於早餐攝入冰淇淋的測試者。
Prof Koga is a specialist in psychophysiology, with his studies including looking into links between certain types of food and reduced stress.
古賀佳彥是一名心理生理學專家，他研究的內容包括尋找某種特定食物和減壓之間的關聯。
Another area of study is the connection between different foods and their impact on the ageing process.
他的另一個研究領域是研究不同食物對人類衰老過程的影響。
Prof Koga is continuing his research and has yet to determine a firm connection between the mental boost delivered by ice cream and a specific ingredient, while another explanation may lie in the sense that ice cream is a treat that triggers positive emotions and added energy.
古賀佳彥的研究仍在進行，他尚未確定提升腦力的是哪種具體原料，而另一種可能的解釋是冰淇淋是可以激發積極情緒且補充能量的美味。
British nutritionists have reacted with some skepticism to Dr Koga's findings.
英國營養學家對古賀佳彥的發現存在一些質疑。
"A possible explanation (for increased alertness)... is the simple presence of consuming breakfast vs. not consuming breakfast," said Katie Barfoot, a Nutritional Psychology Doctoral Researcher at Reading University.
雷丁大學營養心理學博士凱蒂.巴富特表示，“（靈敏度有所提升的）一種可能解釋是，這只是吃早餐和沒吃早餐的表現。”
"Our brain needs glucose to function, and a high glucose meal will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain.
“大腦工作時需要葡萄糖，而與未進食的大腦相比，高糖飲食可以大大提升大腦的思維能力。”
"This, however, does not condone eating dessert for breakfast. A study which explores the interaction between consumption of low and high GI foods, whilst including a fasted group, would establish a better understanding of this increased mental capacity."
“但是，這不是讓我們早餐吃甜點。在研究攝入低糖食物和高糖食物的作用時，同時加入禁食組，有助於更好的理解思維能力提升的原因。”
There has already been some scientific research into why ice cream may have a positive mental effect on those who eat it.
一些科學研究已經對吃冰淇淋可能產生積極心理影響的原因進行了探索。
In 2005, neuroscientists at the Institute of Psychiatry in London scanned the brains of test subjects as they ate vanilla ice cream and saw immediate results.
2005年，倫敦精神病學研究所神經科學家在測試者吃香草冰淇淋時掃描他們的大腦，觀察即時反應。
The study found that eating ice cream activated the same "pleasure spots" of the brain that are lit up by winning money, or listening to a favourite piece of music.
這項研究發現，吃冰淇淋激活了大腦中的“快樂區域”，這和贏錢或聽喜歡的歌曲時激活的是同一區域。
"This is the first time that we've been able to show that ice cream makes you happy," Unilever spokesman Don Darling said at the time.
聯合利華發言人唐.達林當時稱，“這是我們首次證明，冰淇淋能夠讓你快樂。”
"Just one spoonful lights up the happy zones of the brain in clinical trials."
“在臨牀試驗中，一勺冰淇淋即可激活大腦的快樂區。”
It's not the first time a study has suggested a high-calorie "dessert" could be better eaten in the morning, either - a 2012 study found that eating chocolate cake for breakfast could help you lose weight.
這也不是第一個表明早晨更適宜攝入高熱量“甜點”的研究。2012年的一項研究發現，早餐吃巧克力蛋糕有助於減肥。
