Key result
LGI breakfast improves immediate verbal memory vs HGI or water but minimally affects overall cognition.
Why the study?
The postprandial effects of high and low glycaemic index breakfasts on cognitive performance in young, healthy adults were not well established.
Does a low glycaemic index breakfast improve cognitive performance in young, healthy adults?
RCT (n=40)
randomized
Yes
Does a low glycaemic index breakfast improve cognitive performance in young, healthy adults?
p-value: p=<.05
Cognitive performance during the postprandial phase in young, healthy adults is minimally affected by the glycaemic index of breakfast, though there may be a slight benefit for immediate verbal memory with a low GI breakfast.
Objective: To evaluate the postprandial effects of high and low glycaemic index (GI) breakfasts on cognitive performance in young, healthy adults.Methods: A crossover clinical trial including 40 young, healthy adults (aged 20–40 years, 50% females) recruited from primary healthcare centres in Salamanca, Spain. Verbal memory, phonological fluency, attention, and executive functions were examined 0, 60, and 120 minutes after consuming a low GI (LGI), high GI (HGI), or water breakfast. Every subject tried each breakfast variant, in a randomized order, separated by a washout period of 7 days, for a total of 3 weeks.Results: A significant interaction between the type of breakfast consumed and immediate verbal memory was identified (P<.05). We observed a trend towards better performance in verbal memory (delayed and immediate), attention, and phonological fluency following an LGI breakfast.Discussion: Cognitive performance during the postprandial phase in young, healthy adults was minimally affected by the GI of breakfast. The potential for breakfast’s GI modulation to improve short- and long-term cognitive functioning requires further research.
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Sánchez‐Aguadero et al. (2018) conducted an RCT in Healthy (n=40). Low glycaemic index (LGI) breakfast vs. High glycaemic index (HGI) breakfast or water was evaluated on Cognitive performance (verbal memory, phonological fluency, attention, and executive functions) (p=<.05). Low glycaemic index breakfast demonstrated a significant interaction with immediate verbal memory compared to high glycaemic index or water (P<.05), but minimally affected overall cognitive performance.
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