Why Eating Breakfast is Good for Your Health

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. We hear this statement often enough, but it helps to know exactly why eating breakfast is good for health. Here’s the science behind it.

Why Eating Breakfast is Good for the Health

The following are some of the science-backed benefits of eating a healthy breakfast:

Eating Breakfast Gets Your Metabolism Back on Track

You could say that our metabolism has two modes–one is the energy-gathering mode, the other is the energy-mobilizing mode.

• The energy-gathering mode happens when we eat food.
• We collect glucose from the carbohydrates in our diet, use most of what we got for the activities of the day, and keep the rest for reserves.
• During fasting, such as when we’re sleeping, the energy-mobilizing mode of the metabolism kicks in.
• What happens is our body uses its glucose reserves to maintain vital activities, such as breathing and repairing damaged tissues.
• It also makes sure that our blood has a normal glucose level.
• The energy-mobilizing mode is especially important for the brain since it mostly relies on glucose and it doesn’t have a reserve of its own.

Eating breakfast is good for health because it gets our metabolism back on track.

Since our glucose reserves are running low from the night of fasting, eating pushes our body to store glucose again.

It Prevents Sluggishness

One of the benefits of eating a healthy breakfast is that it can help boost brain function.

As mentioned earlier, our brain mostly depends on glucose for energy. Skipping breakfast thins the body’s glucose reserves, and therefore deprives the brain of the energy it needs. This leads to sluggishness, inattention, and memory lapses. As a result, even simple tasks can become more difficult to accomplish.

It’s Good for the Body Mass Index

People who want to lose weight often skip breakfast because their goal is to reduce the number of calories they take. While this seems logical, studies show differently.

In one study involving Japanese men and women, the researchers found out that skipping breakfast contributes to annual changes in men’s waist circumference and body mass index. Moreover, they also revealed that eating breakfast at least 4 times a week could prevent excessive body weight gain.

Interestingly, a separate piece of research concluded that skipping breakfast had a greater influence on a person’s waist circumference and BMI than eating dinner less than 3 hours before bedtime. For this reason, it’s safe to say that eating breakfast is good for your health, particularly your weight.

It Prevents Nutrient Deficiency

Why is eating breakfast good for your health? Well, according to experts, it’s because it provides you with the essential nutrients you need to keep going. Scientists emphasize that people who eat a healthy breakfast regularly are more likely to meet their recommended dietary intake of nutrients like iron, fiber, calcium, and B vitamins.

Most of the essential vitamins and minerals can only be obtained through our diet. So skipping breakfast means one less opportunity to load up on these nutrients.

It Reduces Your Risk of Heart Disease

Aside from the above benefits of eating a healthy breakfast, it can also prevent certain health conditions. One study shows that skipping breakfast daily is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. The same research highlighted that having breakfast even just once a week can potentially prevent heart diseases.

It’s Helps Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

And finally, one of the most important reasons why eating breakfast is good for your health is it can help prevent Type 2 diabetes.

Several researchers discovered that the more frequent you skip breakfast in a week, the higher your risk of type 2 DM is. This large-scale study with over 96,000 participants even highlights that skipping breakfast even just once a week already increases your risk of Type 2 DM by up to 6%. That is in comparison to those who are eating breakfast daily.

Ideas for a Healthy Breakfast

We’ve already established that eating breakfast is good for your health, but here’s another important point: What you eat matters.

So, to help ensure that your breakfast is healthy, consider these ideas:

• Plain variety of quick oats with various fruits for flavor
• Fresh fruits with raw, unsalted nuts
• Smoothies made from fresh fruits, yogurt, or milk
• High-fiber toast with peanut butter spread
• Boiled egg with whole-grain toast
• Fish and vegetables
• Protein bars and protein shakes

Now, the next thing to focus on is for you to be more inspired to eat breakfast daily. These tips could help:

• Consider meal prepping the night before or during the weekend.
• If you are in a rush, choose easy-to-grab breakfasts that you can take with you on your way to work.
• Keep portable breakfast meals at work, if you’re allowed to.
• If you want a freshly-prepared breakfast, try getting into the habit of waking up 10 to 15 minutes before your mealtime.
• Add more variety in the food items to your fridge and cupboard.

Key Takeaways

Based on the scientifically-proven benefits we discussed in this article, it’s easy to see why breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day.

It jumpstarts your metabolism, boosts brain power, supplies you with essential nutrients, and even helps prevent long-term health conditions.

However, besides breaking the fast, it’s also important to carefully choose what you eat. Add a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, in your plate. And of course, have healthy drinks like smoothies and milk.

Learn more about Healthy Eating Tips here. 

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