By Yinka Shokunbi
Nutritionists, doctors, teachers – even parents – can be heard touting the importance of eating breakfast. There is a common refrain. It jumpstarts your day! You’ll think more clearly!
However, it turns out there is an emerging debate among health professionals whether this recommendation holds any factual weight. Is eating breakfast actually necessary?
Greater risk for heart attacks
Some recently published clinical research may bring us a little closer to the truth. It turns out that adult men who skipped breakfast had a 27 per cent increased risk of a heart attack compared to those who regularly eat breakfast. These findings came from researchers at Harvard School of Public Health in a recent study of 27,000 male health professionals.
But the relationship here is actually quite complicated. People who skip breakfast are also more likely to be unmarried, smokers, and alcohol drinkers, and indeed each of these things is known to raise heart attack risk. Importantly, though, the Harvard researchers found that even after adjusting for these other factors, the increased risk of heart attack among breakfast-skippers persisted.
Fewer calories – All in favour?
There are, however, dissenting opinions about the need for having breakfast. Other high-quality nutritional studies have shown that eating breakfast – large or small – will only increase daily caloric intake. In other words, those who eat breakfast eat more total daily calories. A study done in the Nutritional Sciences Department at Cornell University shows that while breakfast does modestly curb subsequent cravings, in most cases breakfast still leads to more overall calories consumed. The largest survey of American eating patterns (the NHANES study) showed the same things. Potential advantages of skipping breakfast may be especially apparent when you consider a typical American breakfast. I’m thinking of the typical restaurant-style breakfast calorie bomb.
Breakfast or not – What you eat is key
It has been estimated that 18 per cent of American adults choose to skip breakfast on a daily basis. Although the details are still being studied, many believe that time of day matters for our metabolism. For example, breakfast-eaters may have lower blood pressures and lower blood sugars, which might be attributable to healthy metabolic changes from a healthy breakfast.
But the key here remains what you eat. Breakfast should have a lot of fibre in it to curb those pre-lunch cravings for snacks. Oatmeal is recommended – preferably steel-cut oats which are rich in soluble fibre – and minimally refined cereals with lots of insoluble fibre. These low-calorie options are an inexpensive and nutritious way to ward off a heart attack. On the flip side, stay away from large servings of orange juice and any other liquid “instant” breakfasts, which are filled with sugar and extra calories. Of course, you will definitely want to avoid the common “3-3-3” breakfast (three eggs, three pancakes, three pieces of bacon)!
So who is right, Harvard or Cornell? The bottom line here is that you should eat breakfast if it does not increase your total caloric intake for the day. Ask yourself: are your breakfast choices helping you curb your snacking and portion sizes at lunch? If so, you are probably doing wonders in preventing a heart attack or stroke.
If not, maybe you should be skipping breakfast entirely
©:Johns Hopkins University
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