Breakfast: Is It the Most Important Meal?

Breakfast starts your day off by helping you start your metabolism and help burn the calories that you have digested all during the day.  It gives you energy to get the things done that you have planned for the day – like focusing you at work or at school.  For these reasons breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It also helps in lowering your bad LDL cholesterol, heart disease, lowering your chance of getting diabetes, and helps to lower your weight.  Though if you eat breakfast it has not been proven that it will cause healthier habits or healthier lifestyles.

If you don’t eat breakfast it may interrupt the rhythm of your body.  In the morning its necessary to eat a healthy breakfast to help with your blood sugar levels which make your muscles and brain do their job.  When the body doesn’t get what it needs in the morning you may overeat later in the day and you may feel tired.  The vitamins and minerals that your body needs to function are in the healthy foods that you eat for breakfast like dairy, grains, and fruits.  A lot of people skip the morning meal because they are running late for work and find themselves overeating a lunch full of high fat and high sugar foods which is not good for your body.

Researchers have found that people who eat breakfast have a better chance at losing weight than people who skip this meal.  It’s not a guarantee though because a study showed that people who ate breakfast didn’t lose any faster that the ones that didn’t.  The study also showed that the people who ate breakfast every day were more likely to keep the weight off than those who didn’t.  The fiber and protein that people eat for breakfast helps keep your appetite in check for the day ahead. You need to keep an eye on what you eat because the study showed that when people ate a big breakfast were more likely to eat more during the day.

Kids do need to eat a healthy breakfast in the morning because their bodies need the nutrients and fuel to keep them going throughout the day.  If they don’t eat a breakfast, they find that the kids have a hard time focusing and become tired in school.  They may become cranky or restless and this doesn’t just affect their moods it also affects their school work.  When kids ate breakfast, they had a tendency to have higher test scores than those that don’t eat breakfast.  Kids need to get vitamins and minerals during the day and if they don’t eat breakfast, they don’t get all that they need by only eating lunch and dinner.  Some kids that don’t eat breakfast have a tendency to eat a lot of junk food and become overweight.  The ones that do eat a breakfast every day have lower body fat than the teens who never eat breakfast.  When your youngster doesn’t feel like having breakfast be sure to put a snack in their lunch bag that they can eat on the way to school or at their recess time.  Keep it healthy by putting in fruit, nuts (if not allergic), and a PBJ (also if not allergic) with banana sandwich.

It’s not necessary to eat a large breakfast if you are not feeling like it, but a small one will help with your energy for the day if you eat it about an hour after getting up.  Foods that have carbs, protein, healthy fats, and fiber are your best for getting you ready to face the day.  So, no pastries or donuts – they will give you energy right away but will not last for long.  Where the healthier foods will stay with you during the day to give you the energy you need.  Fiber makes your body think its full, so you won’t be overeating.  Whole grain cereal with low fat milk and fruit is a great way to start your day.