THANKSGIVING

Good Morning, Today is Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Perhaps many of you will be eating a traditional Turkey today.  Whether or not you do, you might consider starting your day will a bowl of ice cream.  I know that I am 'smart enough' to believe the veracity of this news story which I have duplicated below.

This story is from 'The Telegraph' in the UK.
www.telegraph.co.uk

Ice cream for breakfast makes you smarter, Japanese scientist claims

Smart choice: Could ice cream have been the key to Boris Johnson's success while campaigning for Vote Leave?

By Julian Ryalll, Tokyo and James Rothwell

23 NOVEMBER 2016 • 2:52PM

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.

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. 

They were then put through a series of mental exercises on a computer.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Prof Koga is a specialist in psychophysiology, with his studies including looking into links between certain types of food and reduced stress. 

Another area of study is the connection between different foods and their impact on the ageing process.

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.

British nutritionists have reacted with some skepticism to Dr Koga's findings.

"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. 

Dimitri Panciera, the world record holder for most ice cream scoops balanced on a cone CREDIT:  RICHARD BRADBURY

"Our brain needs glucose to function, and a high glucose meal will aid mental capacity considerably compared to a fasted brain.

"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."

There has already been some scientific research into why ice cream may have a positive mental effect on those who eat it.

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. 

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.

"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.

"Just one spoonful lights up the happy zones of the brain in clinical trials."

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. 

This news story ends with an even more preposterous assumption - that eating chocolate cake for breakfast could help you lose weight?  Here's what I want to know.  Where is this universe where this is true?  I think I might like to live there.

* * * * * * * * * *

Yesterday was a day where I needed to finish up my root canal on one of my teeth. I walked to the dentists office, and afterwards continued walking so that when my urban hike was concluded, I had logged 16 miles. 

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Essential Everyday - Butter Flavored Grits	600	126	6	12	2,040	6
Dunkin Donuts Bavarian Creme 1 donut	270	31	15	4	350	9
	870	157	21	16	2,390	15
L U N C H
Kikka - Salmon and Avocado Roll, 8 pieces	350	66	5	11	1,270	24
	350	66	5	11	1,270	24
D I N N E R
Homemade - Bean and Cheese Burrito	700	95	28	36	0	0
	700	95	28	36	0	0
S N A C K S
ENERGY CHOCOLATE ALMOND CHIP	330	48	18	9	30	36
SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS	200	29	11	3	0	23
Little Debbie - Banana Twins, 5 cakes	650	103	25	5	350	63
	1,180	180	54	17	380	122
Totals	3,100	498	108	80	4,040	161
Your Daily Goal	5,889	736	196	295	2,300	220
Remaining	2,789	238	88	215	-1,740	59
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 3,959 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 186.2 lbs in 5 weeks.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
16 MILE DAYTIME URBAN HIKE	222	2,971
6 MILE NIGHTTIME URBAN HIKE	84	1,119
Add Exercise Quick Tools
Daily Total / Goal	306 / 30	4,090 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	747 / 210	9,324 / 4,130