We've all heard the expression, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day." We may have the best of intentions to start our day off with a healthy meal, but breakfast is often the last thing on our minds as we go about our daily business. Working, caring for a loved one, socializing, attending doctor's appointments and other necessities take up most of our time. It's okay to skip this one little meal, right?
Wrong.
According to Dr. Hamid R. Farshchi and his colleagues at the University of Nottingham, there are some very compelling reasons why breakfast should be a priority, especially for diabetic seniors. The UK researchers found that when healthy, lean women skipped their morning meal, it raised their cholesterol levels and diminished their bodies' sensitivity to insulin, which can prove dangerous to diabetics.
The Relationship between Breakfast, Diabetes and Cholesterol
The hormone insulin is released after a meal to help the body's cells convert digested sugars into energy. If the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin, Type II diabetes can develop. Combined with high LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, this is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Also, the women tended to eat more calories on breakfast-free days -- suggesting that over the long haul, skipping breakfast could spur weight gain, another obstacle to the healthy management of senior diabetes.
Dr. Farshchi's team reported these and other findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Some past studies have suggested that people who eat breakfast, particularly whole-grain cereals, have lower cholesterol and insulin levels, Dr. Farshchi told Reuters Health.
Along with past evidence, he said, the new findings suggest that making time for breakfast is likely to have permanent health benefits.
It's unclear whether or not eating breakfast can directly lead to weight loss. Some research, Dr. Farshchi noted, has found a correlation between eating breakfast -- again, whole-grain cereals in particular -- and lower body weight, but other studies have found no such relationship.
Other Health Effects of Skipping Breakfast
To study the short-term metabolic effects of having and forgoing breakfast, Dr. Farshchi's team had ten young, average-weight women spend two weeks on each of two diet plans. Under the first plan, the women had bran flakes with low-fat milk for breakfast, and then had two meals and two snacks throughout the rest of the day.
Under the second diet plan, they skipped breakfast, but had the cereal around noon as in the first plan, then had two additional meals and two snacks during the rest of the day.
With each plan, the women were allowed to indulge in one mid-morning cookie.
At the end of each two-week period, the researchers measured the women's metabolic responses to a test milkshake, using blood samples drawn before and after they had the drink.
After the breakfast-free period, the women's cholesterol levels -- including the "bad" cholesterol, LDL -- were generally higher, and they showed poorer insulin sensitivity after having the test drink.
Besides the effects on cholesterol and insulin, skipping breakfast also seemed to make study participants eat more, as the women reported higher calorie intakes on breakfast-free days.
Because of the short study period, the researchers observed no changes in the women's body weights. "Further long-term studies are needed to investigate the full impact of breakfast consumption on body weight," Dr. Farshchi noted.
The most important takeaway from this research is that it stresses the value of that all-important first meal. "If the first thing somebody eats in the day is a mid-morning snack and has the cereal later in the day," Dr. Farshchi said, "he or she does not get these metabolic benefits."
In order to ensure that you make time for breakfast, try stocking your cabinets with foods you can eat on the go. Bagels, muffins, pita bread, and cereal bars are just some examples of healthy foods you can grab on your way out the door to enjoy the rest of your day!