Previous studies have found that eating low glycemic index foods in the morning can improve children’s attention and memory. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17224202)
Could eating noodles also affect children’s intelligence? Let’s look at this Japanese study.
This study was supported by the Japanese National Youth Science Association, involving 290 Japanese children (aged 5-18)
In Japan, children typically have two types of breakfast: some eat bread, noodles, while others eat white rice.
Researchers divided the children into three groups:
Rice group, who often eat rice for breakfast
Noodle group, who often eat bread and noodles
Mixed diet group, who eat both types of food
They then used standard IQ tests to measure their IQ and scanned their brain gray matter. The results showed:
- The brain gray matter (GMR) of the rice group was significantly larger than that of the bread group, and this difference grew larger with age. The more gray matter, the higher the intelligence in certain areas.
- IQ comparison
Verbal IQ comparison: Rice group 104.7, Bread group 100.3.
Performance IQ comparison: Rice group 102, Bread group 97.9.
From the comparison of gray matter, the difference is quite evident. In terms of IQ tests, the rice group has an advantage.
Therefore, based on this study, noodles are indeed not suitable for children, while rice is better than noodles.
Moreover, the study also found that children who eat rice have smaller food intake compared to those who eat noodles.
From:
Breakfast Staple Types Affect Brain Gray Matter Volume and Cognitive Function in Healthy Children
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015213
Article content from: https://ketodietblog.com/posts/wheat-and-iq/