We’ve all been told to not skip breakfast, or that it is “the most important meal of the day.” But is the claim backed up with any real facts? Is this some conspiracy that breakfast food companies and restaurants made up or something your doctor would tell you?
Being healthy vs. being skinny
It’s been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that breakfast does in fact improve your metabolism making breakfast eaters generally weigh less that those of us who skip breakfast. It also makes you less hungry throughout the day, making you eat less lunch and an earlier dinner causing you to also weigh less. HOWEVER, most people who eat breakfast have healthier habits all around, which I believe is the main factor. You cannot take an unhealthy, obese person and tell them to “eat breakfast” hoping that it makes them more healthy. It may give them minimum weight loss benefits, depending on what they choose to eat for breakfast. The International Journal for Obesity reported that eating a protein rich breakfast is highly beneficial, whereas a protein neutral breakfast is actually comparable to eating no breakfast at all. It doesn’t really matter when you eat, but what you eat. The Huffington Post even claims that many cereals have too much sugar and can be very unhealthy. Now I’m not saying that you should swear off of breakfast altogether, but don’t go thinking that you can grab that frozen pizza out of your fridge and call it a healthy meal because it hasn’t hit noon yet.
Your Brain
This article reports that eating breakfast can actually improve your mood by regulating your blood sugar. However a super fatty oily breakfast can actually do the opposite and make you less productive by giving you that “I feel gross and need a nap” feeling just to get your metabolism back in check. Berkhan claims that these blood sugars that increase your mood depends heavily on “how you do on breakfast.”
Why were we misled?
I for one, am pretty unhappy with the lies breakfast has been telling me. My healthiest and happiest friends have told me that they usually just have a coffee for breakfast, and then go on their morning run. So where did this myth start? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that “ scholars in this field of inquiry-breakfast science- have been fudging facts and misinterpreting the science” and “the literature shows signs of research bias.”
I agree with you when you say that people who eat breakfast have healthier habits all around – for one, they have to have better sleeping habits because they are waking up earlier to have time to eat breakfast. I think that it does help your metabolism to eat something in the morning and get it started, but as you mention, what that breakfast consists of can determine whether or not you are really making a healthy move for your body. ABC posted an article about the top 20 foods to eat for breakfast – check it out:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/top-20-foods-eat-breakfast/story?id=19295525