What’s for Breakfast?

It has been said that breakfast is the meal you don’t want to miss.  Yet, many people still manage to get out of the house without it.  I get all the reasons, it’s too early to eat, I didn’t have enough time to prepare something before leaving the house. I know this because I too have said these things in the past.  The truth is breakfast is the first meal of your day and the one that jumpstarts your energy boost.  In this blog, I want to present 3 reasons why you should consider eating breakfast every morning.

Reason #1 Your Metabolism

Eating breakfast is the meal that primes your metabolism engine.  Metabolism is the process of how quickly you burn calories or fat.  It helps transform the foods you eat into energy.  There are a few considerations to think about concerning metabolism.  You have probably heard or read that as we age our metabolism slows down, meaning we don’t burn calories as fast as we used to.  It has been shown in research that people are less active as they grow older.  When you think about it, it makes sense that you wouldn’t be as ready to eat in the morning if you are not burning as many calories through metabolism.

Research also shows that as we age, we don’t have to accept a slowed metabolism.  If we continue to engage a regular exercise routine our metabolism could remain consistent.  This brings out some reassuring points for eating breakfast. One, kids should always eat breakfast because they burn calories at a faster rate and those calories should be replaced for growth and development.  Two, adults can gain the benefits of health by keeping a regular exercise routine and therefore maintaining a consistent metabolism.

Reason #2 Overeating

Those who make the choice to stay in bed a few extra minutes rather than eat breakfast may not be benefiting their health.  At least according to some studies that link skipping breakfast to poor health.  The idea that rest is better than fueling your body at the beginning of the day triggers me to talk about balance.  To function at your best all the parts that define health needs attention.  You may think a few extra minutes of sleep adds something significant to your day, but does it really?  What is the consideration when you run out of energy before lunch?

Skipping breakfast and overeating during lunch or dinner may increase your risk for excess weight gain.  This, in turn, increases your risk of health concerns like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.  I understand the reasoning of eating more or choosing something unhealthy to eat because you are suddenly starving.  But, engaging in a routine like that only sets the stage for health issues later.  Like I mentioned earlier, balance is the key.  A routine of balance with sleep, eating, and exercise, can help prevent adding extra calories than you would’ve if you had eaten breakfast.

Reason #3 Better Performance

Not only does breakfast provide needed energy for the body, but it also provides it for the brain too.  This is the reason several states have made serving breakfast to their students’ part of their school day.  Research has found that eating breakfast benefits a kid’s focus, behavior, cognitive, and school performance.  Adults can experience some ill effects of not eating breakfast just as well as kids.  Their work performance can suffer from the lack of energy food provides.  They may experience feelings of irritability, become tired, and find it hard to learn or perform job duties well.

I found it interesting after reading several articles on eating breakfast that we can train our brain to respond in a certain way by the habits we engage in.  Dopamine is a chemical in the brain that is released when we eat breakfast.  This results in us feeling positive and gratified.  On the other hand, people who skip meals or are overweight tend to exhibit lower levels of dopamine and are more prone to overeat from a lack of satisfaction.

The conclusion here is to eat breakfast.  Adults and children should eat breakfast every morning to jumpstart their day.  Breakfast doesn’t have to be a big ordeal to do either.  It can be as simple as a bowl of cereal, toast, protein bar or yogurt.  Remember breakfast is just one of the steps of a healthy and balanced lifestyle.  What a great way to start your day.