Is Skipping Breakfast a Smart Thing or a Smarter Thing?

In our Western society, we are conditioned to eat breakfast. We are told it is the most important meal of the day because it breaks a fast of not eating from the previous day. Over time, it becomes a habit.
In the Eastern culture, it is a take it or leave it situation with breakfast. Their most important meal of the day is the mid-day meal. The late meal is much lighter.

Breakfast

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/study-finds-people-who-skip-breakfast-miss-vital-nutrients-snack-more. When I read articles like this one in the link, I immediately think to myself about what agenda does the writer have. Fasting is great! It is healthy! Does it matter when a fast is broken?

In this specific article, the emphasis is on nutrition. It presupposes that breakfast eaters will eat more nutrients than breakfast-skippers. Let me be upfront. I skip breakfast maybe 25-30 times a month. I love breakfast, but I prefer to do an intermittent fast daily. Eating breakfast does not fit into that daily plan.

The Study

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/proceedings-of-the-nutrition-society/article/skipping-breakfast-is-associated-with-nutrient-gaps-and-poorer-diet-quality-among-adults-in-the-united-states/C7943690D97E913FA19B936BFBDB0F2A. Ohio State University assumes that skipping breakfast is a bad idea because you will miss out on some required nutrients and the choices of foods you eat during the rest of the day will not supply them to you. A team evaluated eleven years (2005-2016) of data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included nearly 31,000 adults over 19 years of age. https://www.cdc.gov/visionhealth/vehss/data/national-surveys/national-health-and-nutrition-examination-survey.html.

According to the study, if you eat breakfast, you will consume more folate, fiber, magnesium, copper, zinc, calcium, iron, vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C, and D. The study also tells us that if you skip breakfast, you will snack more, especially on sugars, carbohydrates, and fat.

I avoid carbohydrates, especially refined carbs. There are no essential carbohydrates the body needs daily. People automatically assume that breakfast is going to be cereal, milk, and grains. Your insulin levels are spiked at the beginning of the day with sucrose, fructose, lactose, and more.

As I read further into this article, part of the funding for this study was done by the National Dairy Association Midwest. Breakfast foods with milk and yogurt would tend to ask about a bias in the assessment.

Fortified foods (breakfast cereals, milk, and dairy) have vitamins, and minerals added back in that were removed in the refining processes. We all have habits. Eating breakfast is one for most people. Eating cereal with milk, toast, etc., is a habit.

For breakfast (when I have one), I eat eggs, bacon (uncured), berries, and unsweetened iced tea or water. You might notice that there are no carbs. There are no greens either. Those come at my larger meal later in the day. I try to stay with the Wahls Protocol lifestyle, focusing on green vegetables, colored fruits and vegetables, sulfur-laden vegetables, and organic protein and fat. It contains over 30 nutrients the body needs daily. https://www.amazon.com/Wahls-Protocol-Autoimmune-Conditions-Principles/dp/1583335544/ref=asc_df_1583335544/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312021251979&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8877300531198693694&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027766&hvtargid=pla-333832534977&psc=1

Conclusion

The study recommended that we make better choices for the foods we eat and to listen to our bodies and eat when we are hungry. I totally agree. However, the study recommends eating unprocessed meats because of the nitrate content. I have been buying uncured bacon (no sodium nitrates) for about two years. The cost has come down significantly and can be found some days at a lower price than cured bacon.

Eat breakfast if you want but choose wisely which foods you eat. Skip breakfast if you want, and, again, choose your foods wisely. Understand what your body’s nutritional needs are daily.

Live Longer & Enjoy Life! – Red O’Laughlin – RedOLaughlin.com