I have found this to be a major topic of controversy with half of people considering breakfast in the morning to be the most important meal, and the other half supposing that it is in fact better to fast until lunchtime or late morning. I have long debated this subject, and in my opinion have always found breakfast to be very beneficial but below I will outline both the pros and cons of each one.

Against eating Breakfast

 

Brief Summary:

Many people believe that skipping breakfast is essentially good for you as it means you consume less calories throughout the day, and for people who like to exercise in the morning, a lot like to ‘run lean’. 

Findings:

Some studies have found fasting to be a very positive thing for two reasons; you consume less calories (around 400 less a day at least), and fasting is meant to have certain advantages when it comes to well-being. It is considered that fasting results in longevity. This is not proven in humans but studies have been carried out on animals, therefore researcher’s say they don’t see why it wouldn’t be the same with us humans. This is supposedly because fasting allows the body to repair cells, and doesn’t put us under ‘oxidative stress’ we should only ‘feed the body what we need and no more’. Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the free radicals in our body and our ability to counteract/deactivate them. Free radicals are unstable molecules in our body that can damage our cells, our body creates these in everyday metabolic processes but antioxidants fight these free radicals. As previously mentioned this is not proven but is likely. From experience, a lot of people who don’t eat breakfast say it is because they simply don’t have an appetite in this morning, and if such is the case then forcing food will not be a positive thing.

 

For eating Breakfast

Brief Summary:

Breakfast is considered by many to ‘set you up for the rest of the day’ not only does it wake up your brain, but also wakes up your metabolism (good for weight loss)! This supposedly prevents your metabolism from slowing down

Findings:

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that you divide your total daily food intake into four or five meals (or snacks per day including breakfast). There are studies to show that failing to eat breakfast can result in not performing as well during workouts (whether that be in the morning or evening)! This also means that not only do you essentially ‘under perform’ but generally people are prone to smoke, drink and eat more when they skip breakfast.

There is actually a lack of scientific evidence to confirm that skipping breakfast actually slows down your metabolism and causes you to directly put on weight, however people that eat breakfast as a whole tend to be healthier people. Although you lose fat by restricting the calories you eat, missing the morning meal causes high cholesterol which is  damaging to your liver. Moreover, studies have also shown that fasting in the morning increases insulin resistance which puts you at a higher risk of Diabetes type 2 as it is linked with impaired glucose tolerance and that is associated with the development of prediabetes and diabetes. The theory is the irregular blood sugar spikes that occur when we fast for a long time and then eat a large amount (due to hunger) put a strain on the body which may lead to insulin resistance. It is important to mention here that the breakfast you eat in the morning should be healthy and not processed (for example, oats, yoghurt, eggs are beneficial for breakfast).

 

So…

Gathering the information consumed, it seems as though it depends on the individual, and the individual’s goals. If you’re looking to lose weight it actually may be beneficial to skip breakfast meaning you consume less calories throughout the day. If you want to build muscle it will help to eat breakfast as it will give you energy for the gym and will mean you have one more meal to get your protein from. In general if you’re looking for Health and Wellness, from my findings and in my opinion, I’d consider breakfast to be important and beneficial. The most important thing to take from this is that each one has pros and cons and everyone is unique in how their body reacts to certain things, therefore what works for one person might not work for another.