Whether you are heading for the school room, board room or just want
     your brain to have the best chance to be in top form, breakfast is a
     must. The most consistent findings to date suggest that eating
     breakfast influences the processes involved in the formation and
     retrieval of memories and in managing complex or challenging
     information.
     In research on children, scientists were able to reveal that skipping
     the first meal of the day led to more errors in tests that required
     the children to solve problems than those who took the time to have
     breakfast. Young adults who missed breakfast have also been shown to
     perform more poorly on tests of scholastic achievement than those who
     had something to eat before undergoing the same experiment.
     It seems that breakfast has these effects through its ability to raise
     levels of glucose in the blood, which in turn increases a transmitter
     in the brain called acetylcholine. It appears to researchers such as
     Professor David Benton of Wales University who are working in this
     area, that acetylcholine is involved in memory since drugs that block
     its production have been shown to disrupt memory, in particular
     reducing the ability to remember new information.
     Since vitamin B1 is needed to make acetylcholine, ensuring the diet
     has a good supply of this nutrient could also play a role in
     optimising mental performance throughout the morning. Cereal foods
     containing vitamin B1 include fortified or wholemeal bread and
     fortified breakfast cereals.
     Our ability to think clearly is not simply restricted to the timings
     of short-term nutritional meals. Mental performance can also be
     affected by the nutritional quality of the diet as a whole in the
     long-term. Having a prolonged poor intake of the mineral iron, for
     example, can affect people's ability to concentrate and reduce their
     IQ.
     It is known that iron deficiency leads to impairment of memory in
     adults and children and that in small children and infants it leads to
     problems with attention and learning (for more details see Food Today
     16).
     While women are particularly susceptible to low intakes of iron in the
     diet, too little of another micronutrient, iodine, affects both the
     sexes. Decision-making and initiative seem especially to suffer when
     iodine is deficient, and although this is only a problem for some
     areas of Europe and for developing countries, the consumption of
     iodised salt, fish, shellfish, meat, milk and eggs can help to ensure
     good intakes are maintained.
     If a lack of certain elements in the diet can lead to impaired mental
     functioning, the addition of others may help to give our brains a
     kick-start. Caffeine, for example has a mild stimulant effect, acting
     on the central nervous system and improving alertness. Tests have
     shown caffeine to be capable of speeding up rapid information
     processing in the brain by ten percent, and that a coffee after lunch
     helps to counteract the normal post-lunch dip' and to sustain
     concentration.
     It is not just what you drink that counts, but drinking enough water
     in general. Even a small reduction in hydration can affect mental
     performance; remember by the time you are thirsty you are already
     dehydrated, so keep topping up with drinks stops through out the day
     to keep your brain alert