Glycaemic Control and Cognition: Evidence across the Lifespan

There has been increasing interest in the effects of nutrition on cognitive performance and more specically how cognitive performance can be optimised using nutritional interventions. The macronutrient glucose has particularly received attention and is perhaps most thoroughly researched in terms of its effects on cognition. The notion that oral glucose administration might facilitate mental performance was rst proposed in the 1950s. Hafermann (1955) investigated the effects of glucose administration on school children and observed a distinct increase in cognitive performance, including performance in mathematics, and generally improved concentration. However, it was not until the mid-1980s that glucose effects on cognitive performance became more widely investigated (Gold, 1986).