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d_phase t1_ix3fzt3 wrote

I'm actually quite surprised between the discrepancy between the OGTT results and the high carb breakfast. They basically produced opposite results in alertness.

Did they control for the form of the breakfast, liquid or solid? I can't see it as I write this comment but I think some of the breakfast variants had a milkshake component, and I'm wondering if solid vs liquid actually has a large effect here. I didn't read the full paper so if someone did, please comment.

Also, it was weird when they said for people not to consume caffeine only when doing the OGTT. Even if caffeine consumption was low overall during the study, getting people who otherwise drink caffeine to not, surely would affect morning alertness.

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LunarGiantNeil t1_ix3v4vd wrote

Here's the relevant section on morning caffeine:

"Moreover, caffeine intake was largely absent for the majority of observations (86% null + 12% missing = 98%), suggesting that most breakfast meals were not accompanied by any caffeinated drinks. Because of this low variance, breakfast caffeine intake was not included in the model. Nevertheless, including breakfast caffeine intake did not change the significance of the other predictors, and breakfast caffeine intake by itself was not a significant predictor of morning alertness — both with and without the OGTT (p = 0.11 and p = 0.605 respectively)."

Big Breakfast can take a flying leap though. I wake up before everyone in my family, make all their breakfasts and get people ready for school, motivating their slow-to-wake butts through the morning and I just skip breakfasts entirely, except for my double shot of black espresso, and then don't eat again until dinner.

Perhaps I am a mutant.

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DrSuchong t1_ix4bx67 wrote

It's anecdotal, but I've noticed if I eat most things for breakfast it throws off my alterness for a while, and if it's a carby breakfast it kinda sets the pace for what kind of food I have that day. Almonds, cheese, and a lil dried fruit seems to be the perfect one for me that keeps me alert and eating better the rest of the day.

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LunarGiantNeil t1_ix4cut2 wrote

That's an interesting idea to try!

I usually do intermittent fasting following my skipped breakfast because my workplace has no accommodations for lunches (ie, no fridge or kitchenette, no break room except a separate building a few minutes walk away through winter cold half of the year) and as long as I don't eat any breakfast I can avoid any feelings of hunger or sluggishness until dinner.

But on the weekends it might be fun to experiment with some early nuts and cheeses. I enjoy making shakshuka or stuff on those days, more for enjoyment than anything else, so I could run a little experiment and see how my alertness/hunger/QoL factors change on a day where I eat a mix of healthy fats and nutrient-dense foods.

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LenokanBuchanan t1_ix3y0a8 wrote

I was trying to copy/paste some of the relevant parts for you on the macronutrient discussion but honestly there’s a LOT there and if you’re interested, it’s worth the read. If you scroll down to the Discussion portion of the paper, then scroll down a few more paragraphs, it goes into some detail about their mechanisms. Most notably I think it the distinction between glucose bs fructose, and also the overall macronutrient breakdown of the meal.

“First, unlike the OGTT, the High Carb breakfast a contained 23% proportion of other macronutrients, of which 16% was fat and 7% was protein. The ratio of carbohydrates-to-protein is known to modulate tryptophan availability in the brain and thus serotonin synthesis26. Specifically, pure carbohydrate (i.e., a ratio of 1:0, as seen in the OGTT) may drive the strongest sedative effect through a surge in serotonin synthesis and thus brain-available tryptophan associated with impaired alertness27. Our finding would therefore suggest that the combination of other macronutrients (e.g., protein, fat, fibre) paired with carbohydrate determines the true synergistic impact of the meal on subsequent alertness.”

Anyway, the discussion is really interesting tbh and worth the read.

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blossomsofblood t1_ix535zk wrote

I don’t quite understand the biochemistry. How is the impact of glucose and fructose consumption different?

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