Skipping Breakfast: Is It Harmful?

You have probably heard a million times the phrase that breakfast should be the most important meal of the day but what if you aren’t hungry first thing after you wake up?

Whereas, studies have shown numerous benefits from eating breakfast, including:

• Fueling your brain and glycogen (energy) stores to help you feel more awake, less fatigued and more focused

• Stabilizing cortisol (stress hormone) levels and so preventing from prolonged elevated cortisol and its associated risk factors inc. increased cardiovascular (e.g. high blood pressure) and metabolic problems (e.g. abdominal obesity)

• Increased nutrient quality of subsequent meals, ensuring an adequate intake of essential micronutrients and fibre throughout the day

• Reducing the risk of insulin-related conditions, primarily of type 2 diabetes

• Lowering the intensity of cravings throughout the day
  

...findings reporting the detriments of skipping breakfast do not prove cause and effect, meaning that it should not be assumed that skipping breakfast in and of itself will translate into e.g. gaining weight or developing type 2 diabetes later on. As I will always and forever say, the focus should be orientated towards your overall eating habits rather than stressing over a specific meal or food.

Learning to tune in with your body’s hunger and fullness cues is paramount to knowing what you really need at a specific time and act accordingly💡It can be that you wake up not feeling hungry and so extending your fast is what your body needs, whereas another day it may be that you wake up really hungry and your body calls for a delicious and nourishing meal first thing in the morning.