THE IMPORTANCE OF SKIPPING OR HAVING YOUR BREAKFAST IS ONE OF THE MOST HOTLY CONTESTED QUESTIONS EVER ASKED IN THE WORLD OF NUTRITION.
BREAKFAST IS INDEED AN IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY NEVER TO BE MISSED. JUST AS A NEWLY BORN BABY WILL CRY OVER AND OVER IF NOT ALLOWED TO ENJOY BREASTMILK SATISFACTORILY.THOUGH, THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS ASSOCIATED WITH PEOPLE WHO MISS OUT OF THEIR BREAKFAST.
SOME OF THESE COMMON REASONS FOR SKIPPING BREAKFAST ARE LACK OF TIME, NOT BEING HUNGRY, NO APPETITE, OR TRYING TO CUT CALORIES FOR WEIGHT LOSS. IF YOU’RE SKIPPING BREAKFAST MOST MORNINGS, THINK AGAIN. HOWEVER, BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANT FOR ACHIEVING A GOOD HEALTH STATUS AS WELL AS YOUR PERSONAL WELLNESS GOALS.
Here are some reasons why:
Metabolism
While you’re sleeping, your body’s metabolism is slowed down because your body is in a state of starvation. Eating breakfast is a tool for jump-starting your metabolism. Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School, explains, “When you don’t eat breakfast, you’re actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours” (WebMD, 2014, para. 7).
Smarter Choices
Researchers have found that people who eat breakfast tend to make healthier choices throughout the day, are less likely to over-eat, and are also more likely to stay on track with their recommended caloric intake. Eating breakfast prevents “starvation eating” or consuming large portions of food later in the day at one time. People who skip breakfast tend to consume most of their calories in the evenings after 5 p.m. (WebMD, 2014, para. 7).
Weight Loss
Politi, RD, MPH goes on to explain how skipping breakfast keeps your metabolism in a compromised state and ultimately hinders weight loss. Essentially, skipping breakfast prevents your body from “producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight” (WebMD, 2014, para. 6). According to the National Weight Control Registry, eating breakfast is a daily habit for “successful losers,” or individuals who have maintained a weight loss of 30 pounds or more for at least one year. Two cereal studies recorded in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that regular cereal eaters were less likely to have weight problems than non-cereal eaters. Those who did not eat breakfast regularly had a 13% higher risk of being overweight than those who ate breakfast daily (WebMD, 2014, para. 5-6). In other words, you need to eat to lose weight!
Control Blood Sugar
You may want to wonder about the correlation between breakfast and blood sugar control in the body system. However, research has shown that eating breakfast regularly aids in keeping your blood sugar steadier on a daily basis. This also holds no restriction on diabetes patients. This, however, has helped nondiabetes patients avoid insulin resistance which can endanger them to diabetes. According to Hamdy, Osama, MD, PhD at the Joslin Diabetes Center, he said skipping breakfast always is not ideal especially for diabetes patients. This may lead them to having low blood sugar which is also known as ‘hypoglycemia’.
Quick Options
So what are some quick healthy options? Here are a few ideas to keep you on track in the morning: whole grain cereal, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, smoothies/shakes, oatmeal and/or whole grain toast. You can also consider having leftovers for breakfast. Who said you can’t have dinner for breakfast?! Be creative and stick to solutions that will minimize your time in the morning.
How are you starting your day?
Referenced: WebMD. (2014). Lose Weight: Eat Breakfast. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast
Dennis Newman. The Benefits of Eating Breakfast. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/many-benefits-breakfast. Reviewed by Nehma Pathak, MD, August 22, 2018.
