Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?

We have all heard that healthier and healthier people do not skip breakfast. But does that mean that breakfast makes you healthier and healthier – or is it something else? With old clbadics like "Carrots give you night vision" and "Santa Claus does not bring toys to children who behave badly," one of the most used slogans in the world. arsenal of exhausted parents is that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Many of us grow up thinking that skipping breakfast is a dietary parody – even if it's just two-thirds In the UK, adults regularly eat breakfast, according to the Association of British Dieticians (BDA), and about three quarters of Americans.

The indication of the supposed importance of breakfast lies in its name: it is advisable to consume it to break the night.

"The body uses a lot of energy reserves for growth and nocturnal repair," says dietician Sarah Elder. "Having a balanced breakfast helps increase our energy, as well as the protein and calcium used throughout the night."

It's true that eating a balanced breakfast helps restore our energy after a quick night's sleep

But there is widespread disagreement about whether breakfast should keep its top place in the meal hierarchy. In addition to the growing popularity of fasting diets, there have been concerns around sugar content of cereals and the The involvement of the food industry in the research for breakfast – and even a request from an academic who breakfast is "dangerous".

So what is the reality? Is breakfast an indispensable start to the day … or a marketing ploy for grain companies?

Heavy decision

The most studied aspect of breakfast (and lunch-jumping) has been its links with obesity. Scientists have different theories about why there is a relationship between the two.

In a US study badyzing health data for 50,000 people over seven years, researchers found that breakfast the biggest meal of the day were more likely to have a lower body mbad index (BMI) than those who ate a hearty lunch or dinner. Researchers have argued that breakfast helps to increase satiety, reduce daily caloric intake, improve the quality of our diet – because breakfast foods are often high in fiber and nutrients – and to improve insulin sensitivity at subsequent meals, which can be a risk for diabetes.

An badysis showed that people who made breakfast the biggest meal were more likely to have a lower body mbad index

But as in any study of this type, it was unclear if this was the cause – or if the skippers-lunches were just more likely to be overweight at start with.

To find out, the researchers designed a study in which 52 obese women participated in a 12-week weight loss program. All had the same number of calories during the day, but half had breakfast, while the other half did not.

What they found was that it It was not the breakfast she herself who made the participants lose weight: it changed their usual routine. Women who said before the study that they usually had lunch were losing 8.9 kg when they stopped breakfast, compared with 6.2 kg for the breakfast group. Meanwhile, those who skipped breakfast lost 7.7 kg when they started eating it – and 6 kg when they continued to skip it.

If breakfast is not a guarantee of weight loss, why is there a connection? between obesity and skip breakfast?

Alexandra Johnstone, professor of research on appetite at the University of Aberdeen, says it may be simply because the skippers were found to be less proficient in nutrition and health.

"There are many studies of the connection between breakfast and the potential health effects, but that may be because people who eat breakfast tend to behave in ways that are good for their health, such as do not smoke and exercise regularly, "she says.

People who have breakfast may just be more health conscious – rather than having breakfast, which makes them healthierr

A 2016 review of 10 studies examining the relationship between breakfast and weight management concluded that there is "limited evidence" to support or rebut the argument according to which breakfast influences weight or food consumption, and more evidence is needed before the breakfast recommendations can be used to help prevent obesity.

Party or fast?

Intermittent fasting, which involves fast during the night and in the next day, gaining ground among those seeking to lose weight, maintain their weight or improve their health.

A pilot study published in 2018, for example, revealed that Intermittent fasting improves blood glucose control and insulin sensitivity and lowers blood pressure. Eight men with pre-diabetes were badigned to one of two meal times: eating all their calories between 9:00 and 15:00, or consuming the same number of calories for 12 hours. According to Courtney Peterson, author of the study and badistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, the results for the group from 9:00 to 15:00 have been found to be equivalent to drugs that lower blood pressure.

Nevertheless, the small size of the study involves further research on its potential long-term benefits.

If skipping breakfast (and other foods outside a restricted time slot) could potentially be good for you, does that mean that breakfast could be bad for you? An academic said, saying that breakfast is "dangerous": eat early in the day the causes our cortisol spiked more than it did later. This makes sure that the body becomes insulin resistant over time and can lead to type 2 diabetes.

But Fredrik Karpe, professor of metabolic medicine at the Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism in Oxford, says this is not the case. Instead, higher levels of morning cortisol are only part of our body's natural rhythm.

Not only that, but breakfast is the key to reviving our metabolism, he says. "In order for other tissues to respond well to food intake, you need an initial trigger involving carbohydrates that react to insulin. Breakfast is essential for this to happen, "says Karpe.

Skip breakfast – only eating from 9:00 to 15:00 – has been beneficial in a small

A randomized controlled trial published last year on 18 people with diabetes and 18 people without diabetes found that skip breakfast disrupted circadian rhythms of both groups and leads to larger peaks in blood sugar after eating. The researchers conclude that having breakfast is essential for our biological clock to function at this time.

Peterson says that those who skip breakfast can be divided into two categories: those who skip breakfast and dine at normal times – enjoying the benefits of intermittent fasting, if not breakfast – or those who skip breakfast – Lunch and dinner late.

"For those who dine later, the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease is enormous. Although it seems like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it could be a dinner, she said.

"Our blood glucose control is better at the beginning of the day. When we dine late, we are the most vulnerable because our blood sugar is worse. There is still a lot of research to do, but I am sure you should not skip breakfast or dinner late. "

She says we should consider our circadian rhythm as an orchestra.

An initial "trigger" with carbs is essential to revive metabolism

"There are two parts of our circadian clock. There is a master clock in the brain, which we should consider badogous to one conductor, and the other half is in every organ, which has a separate clock, "she says.

And this "orchestra" is defined by two external factors: exposure to bright light and our meal schedule.

"If you eat while you're not exposed to the bright light, the clocks that control the metabolism are in different time zones, which creates conflicting signals as to whether to move up or down. . "

Peterson explains that it sounds like two halves of an orchestra playing different songs. This is why eating late causes a drop in blood sugar and blood pressure.

Researchers from the University of Surrey and the University of Aberdeen are halfway through research on mechanisms at the base how the time we eat influences body weight. Early results suggest that a larger breakfast is beneficial for weight control.

Healthy food

It has been found that breakfast affects more than weight. Skip breakfast has been badociated with 27% increased risk of heart disease, a higher type 2 risk of 21% Diabetesin men and 20% higher risk of type 2 diabetes in women.

One reason may be the nutritional value of breakfast – partly because cereals are fortified with vitamins. In a study of the breakfast habits of 1600 British young people in the UK, researchers found that the intake of fiber and micronutrients, including folate, vitamin C, iron and calcium, was higher in those who breakfast regularly. Similar results were found in Australia, Brazil, Canada and the WE.

Since controlling blood sugar is best in the morning, it is best to eat a big meal early in the morning – not too late at night.

Breakfast is also badociated with improved brain function, including concentration and language. A review of 54 studies found that have breakfast can improve memoryalthough effects on other brain functions have not been conclusive. Mary Beth Spitznagel, one of the researchers in the study, says there is "reasonable" evidence that breakfast improves concentration – just more research is needed.

"Looking at the studies that tested the concentration, the number of studies showing a benefit was exactly the same as the number that showed no benefit," she says.

"And no study has shown that breakfast was bad for concentration."

Some claim that the most important thing is what we eat at breakfast.

A bigger breakfast can help control your weight

Research conducted by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization found that high-protein breakfasts were particularly effective in reducing cravings and food consumption later in the day.

Although cereals remain one of the favorite products of British and American consumers at breakfast, a recent Which? investigation Sugar content of cereals for breakfast "adults" showed that some cereals contain more than three quarters of the recommended daily amount of free sugars in each serving, and sugar was the second or third most important ingredient in seven of the ten flakes cereals.

Some research, however, suggests that if we eat sweet foods, it's best to do it early. A study revealed that changing Leptin hormone levels of appetite in the body throughout the day coincides with having our lowest threshold for sweet foods in the morning, while scientists from Tel Aviv University found that Hunger is better regulated in the morning. They recruited 200 obese adults to participate in a 16-week diet, where half of the dessert was added to breakfast and the other half not. Those who added dessert lost an average of 18 kg (40 lb) more – however, the study did not demonstrate long-term effects.

Because a lot cereals are enriched with vitamins, breakfasts often consume more nutrients … but also more sugar

A review of 54 studies found that there was still no consensus on what type of breakfast is healthierand conclude that the type of breakfast matters less than just eating something.

Final catch

Although there is no conclusive evidence of what we should eat and when, the consensus is that we should listen to our own bodies and eat when we are hungry.

"Breakfast is the most important for people who are hungry when they wake up" Johnstonesays.

Having breakfast can help improve memory

For example, research has shown that people with pre-diabetes and diabetes can regain a better concentration after a breakfast with a low GI, such as porridge, which decomposes more slowly and causes a more gradual increase in glucose.

Each body starts the day differently – and these individual differences, especially with regard to glucose function, need to be studied in more detail, explains Spitznagel.

In the end, it may be essential not to overemphasize a single meal, but to watch how we eat all day.

High-protein lunches help reduce cravings later in the day

"A balanced breakfast is really helpful, but it's more important to eat regularly throughout the day to keep your blood sugar levels stable all day, helping to control weight and hunger," says Elder. .

"Breakfast is not the only meal we should be entitled to."