What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning, do you think of more sleep or food?
There are a great number of adults who skip breakfast despite it being regarded famously known as the most important meal of the day
During a busy morning, it’s easy to let breakfast fall low in your list of priorities, but taking just a few minutes to have something to eat can really make a difference to your day.
Breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day. It also gives you the energy you need to get things done and helps you focus at work or at school. Breakfast also gives you a chance to get in some vitamins and nutrients from healthy foods like dairy, grains, and fruits. If you don’t eat it, you aren’t likely to get all of the nutrients your body needs.
A healthy breakfast may reduce the risk of illness
Compared to children who regularly eat breakfast, those who skip breakfast tend to consume fewer kilojoules overall, yet they experience the same rates of overweight and obesity.
There are a number of theories for this. There is some evidence that large meals are more likely to lead to weight gain than smaller, more frequent meals. This is because excess kilojoules eaten during one sitting are stored as body fat, once the glycogen storage areas are full. People who skip breakfast are usually ravenous by lunchtime and tend to eat more to compensate.
Why we skip breakfast
- not enough time
- too tired to bother
- wanting to spend the extra time dozing in bed
- No readily available breakfast foods in the house.
Many people skip the a.m. meal because they’re rushing to get out the door. That’s a mistake. You need food in your system long before lunchtime. If you don’t eat first thing, you may get so hungry later on that you snack on high-fat, high-sugar foods.
Breakfast provides many benefits to our health and wellbeing
Breakfast provides the body and brain with fuel after an overnight fast – that’s where its name originates, breaking the fast! Without breakfast you are effectively running on empty, like trying to start the car with no petrol!
Breakfast should be eaten within two hours of waking
Apart from providing us with energy, breakfast foods are good sources of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins as well as protein and fiber.
Breakfast can be good for waistline too, research shows those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be within their ideal weight range compared with breakfast skippers. If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks mid-morning.
Cognitive function
Breakfast also restores glucose levels, an essential carbohydrate that is needed for the brain to function. Eating breakfast can improve memory and concentration levels and it can also make us happier as it can improve mood and lower stress levels. In studies amongst children, breakfast can improve attainment, behavior and has been linked to improved grades. Just like any other organ in the body, the brain needs energy to work at its best!
Long term health
EATING BREAKFAST HAS LONG TERM HEALTH BENEFITS. IT CAN REDUCE OBESITY, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART DISEASE AND DIABETES.
Keeps you focused
Eating a healthy breakfast helps us feel more focused for the coming day, whether we are at work or simply getting on with our daily routines. There’s nothing worse than being constantly aware that you are hungry and counting the minutes until lunchtime.
Controls your appetite
Those that are calorie-conscious could be forgiven for thinking that skipping out a meal will help them lose weight, but in fact the opposite may happen instead. If you don’t eat breakfast, you’re way more likely to end up snacking throughout the morning, which could pile up the unhealthy calories!
Energize yourself
Our bodies need energy to function, and that energy comes from food. As soon as we start eating in the morning, we kick start our body chemistry which gets us feeling energized and ready for the day.
Be happy!
The foods we eat are intrinsically linked to our moods, and whilst many of us aren’t morning people we guarantee you’ll be less grumpy if you get a good breakfast in you! This is because eating in the morning gives our bodies that essential boost to get us going and also balances blood sugars to prevent those tired and cranky feelings!
Skipping the morning meal can throw off your body’s rhythm of fasting and eating. When you wake up, the blood sugar your body needs to make your muscles and brain work their best is usually low. Breakfast helps replenish it.
