Blog

Breakfast: The Most Important Meal

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on July 18, 2013

Eating healthy with a busy life style can be difficult, but not impossible. Starting the day with a healthy breakfast has been shown by many research studies to be an important part of good health.

Working with clients for over 25 years, I have found that those who skip breakfast feel sluggish in the morning, feel hungrier at lunch and later in the day, and make better food choices when they do not feel starved.

Breakfast means “breaking the fast” because after a night of rest our bodies are in a starvation state. Eating when we get up in the morning is like putting fuel in our gas tank. When fuel is missing in our cars, they cannot run. This is how our bodies work as well. When breakfast is skipped, we stay in a starvation state and our metabolism remains slow. This causes those trying to lose weight to struggle.

Research has found that individuals who skip breakfast consume lower levels of fiber, calcium, riboflavin, zinc, iron, vitamin A, and Vitamin C. They also consume more fat and cholesterol. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported in 2010 that individuals who skipped breakfast throughout childhood and as adults had higher levels of LDL, (bad cholesterol) than those who had always eaten breakfast.

Make sure that your breakfast contains high fiber choices. Consuming higher fiber foods at breakfast will help with hunger later in the day because high fiber choices tend to make us feel fuller longer. High fiber choices include: fresh fruit and high fiber breakfast cereals, breads, and muffins.

Jacqueline King, MS, RD, FADA, CDE