According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, approximately 25% of US adults skip breakfast on a daily basis. There is something that often bothers most of us. Continually skipping breakfast without having a plan for what to eat for the rest of the day can derail you from your health goals.
What are some of the short and long term effects of not “feeding” your mind and body in the morning?
When breakfast is off the menu
Your energy levels may drop
It is normal for blood glucose levels to drop after a long night of fasting can result in fatigue and brain fog if you don’t eat anything in the morning.
Simply put, the brain depends on glucose to function optimally. And where does glucose come from? From foods that are mainly carbohydrates. Carbohydrates help maintain healthy blood sugar levels to increase energy and mental focus.
Hormones can be disrupted
Going long hours without food can also disrupt our hormone levels, starting with the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol greatly affects our mood and our response to demanding daily tasks and challenging situations. In general, cortisol levels are highest when you wake up and decrease as the day progresses. So eating a nutritious breakfast helps manage these levels, giving us a mental boost to face the day.
Over time, disruptions in our hormonal balance can also affect reproductive health and menstruation.
Most likely, mood swings will knock on your door
A study of 21,972 college students found that regularly skipping breakfast was linked to lower levels of happiness, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
When they are persistently high, cortisol levels associated with anxiety and depression, scientists explain. A lack of brain-supporting nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins has been linked to mood disorders. A nutritious breakfast containing these ingredients is more than just fuel. They note that this is an important component in maintaining mental and emotional well-being.
After that, you will be even more hungry
Skipping meals can make us so hungry that we snack on whatever is in front of us, even if it doesn’t fit our health goals, as our bodies will seek out quick sources of energy.
Eating a breakfast that contains protein-rich foods can help curb cravings and balance blood sugar levels. A study in Current Developments in Nutrition found that eating a high-protein breakfast regularly reduced unhealthy snacking throughout the day and increased participants’ feelings of fullness.
It can even damage the heart
Skipping meals can even be dangerous in the long run as many studies have confirmed, to the extent that it can damage our hearts. A meta-analysis in the American Journal of Cardiology found that skipping breakfast is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. This may be due to the metabolic effects that skipping breakfast has on blood sugar levels, overeating later in the day, and the link between skipping breakfast and other bad lifestyle habits that promote heart disease.
Another obesity study found that people who skipped breakfast had higher levels of “bad” cholesterol than those who didn’t.
Although many factors contribute to chronic disease, breakfast eaters and regular, small meals seem to have a healthier heart profile than those who don’t. Experts point out that the most important thing is mindset and paying attention to the types of food we eat, getting quality nutrients and a firm commitment to healthy lifestyle habits. Does it have an effect on metabolism?
Some systematically skip breakfast in hopes of losing weight. On the contrary, this tactic can prevent weight loss by affecting the proper functioning of metabolism.
Deprivation of food puts the body into an energy-saving state, so metabolic processes slow down and the rate of calorie burning decreases.
Good breakfast activates metabolism and helps to burn fat reserves in the body more efficiently.