How Our Breakfast Secretly Controls Us
Every day, we are told that breakfast is the most important meal of our day. Yet for some reason, it never occurs to us what happens when we skip it. From giving our energy levels a kickstart to helping control our appetite, how we start the day is important as it affects the next 24 hours.
One study carried out at the American College of Cardiology found that regularly eating breakfast reduces your risk of heart disease, which experts believe is because starting the day with a healthy meal can also help you make healthier choices for lunch and dinner.
So if you’re looking to improve your health, get more out of life and reduce your risk of preventable diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure or obesity- then making time for breakfast really is worth it.
Find out how our morning meal controls hunger throughout the day and what can be done about it.
Kicking off the day the right way
Why is breakfast so important?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it sets up how hungry we will feel for the rest of the day. It influences our mood and energy levels and can make us more productive at work. Skipping breakfast not only makes you feel terrible but also when your stomach is empty, your body starts to store fat in case you don’t eat again.
Studies show that people who eat breakfast on a daily basis tend to be more healthy and active than those who don’t. People who regularly skip breakfast tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables, consume more calories from snacks and generally have poorer diets than those who don’t.
People who eat breakfast on a regular basis:
- Have healthier body weight;
- Consume less fat throughout the day;
- Are more active during free time;
Skipping Breakfast?
A lot of people tend to skip eating breakfast for a number of reasons. They are either:
- Rushing out the door in the morning;
- Don’t want to wake up earlier to make something for themselves;
- Don’t know what they should eat to make a healthy breakfast;
In some cases, their idea of a healthy breakfast is either nothing or something unhealthy.
If you are not feeling hungry in the morning and you’d rather have juice instead of a meal, that’s still better than skipping breakfast altogether.
Just make sure the juice you get is a green juice (only veggies, no fruit juices). Vegetables don’t contain any sugar, so when they are juiced, you’re just drinking water and vitamins.
How does our breakfast secretly control us?
We can have two breakfasts with the same number of calories, but the one that doesn’t cause a spike in our blood sugar keeps us fuller and less hungry for the rest of the day.
Research has shown that people who eat a high-glycemic-index breakfast are likely to be more hungry at lunchtime than those who have had a well-balanced breakfast. This is because blood sugar levels are more harmful after eating foods with high glycemic indices due to their adverse effect on insulin, which then causes overeating.
High glycemic index (GI) refers to a classification of carbohydrates on their ability to raise blood sugar levels. Foods with high GI values, such as mashed potatoes and white bread, produce a greater elevation in blood sugar levels than low GI foods like oatmeal or most vegetables.
The best type of breakfast would be those that are a low-glycemic index. A very low-carbohydrate high-fat breakfast lowers post-breakfast glucose excursions. So basically breakfast should be savory and feature some good fat as well including; smoked salmon, avocado, olive oil, and more.
Grains with low glycemic indices will release sugar into your bloodstream slowly so you won’t experience the big mood swings and sugar crashes.
Does Breakfast affect behavior and performance?
Eating breakfast helps our mood and energy levels.
Eating breakfast can affect our mood levels. This is because the meal boosts our serotonin levels, which can promote happiness, calmness, and sometimes even lower anxiety. It sets us up for a happier and positive day.
Skipping breakfast can have an adverse effect on our mood too. One study found that people who skipped breakfast were more likely to feel stressed and depressed, or have a lower mood level than those who ate breakfast.
The other concern for not eating breakfast is performance. Eating a healthy breakfast can help us be more productive at work because it provides us with energy, while skipping it may leave us feeling lethargic and unfocused which will lead to a slower work rate.
Benefits of Glucose steady breakfast
A flat glucose curve for breakfast sets us up to power through our day with sustained energy. It regulates our blood sugar levels and keeps us away from the highs and lows in energy, mood swings, and cravings.
Breakfast with a flat glucose curve is a healthier option for a number of reasons:
- It reduces biological stress on the body;
- It regulates appetite and prevents overeating past lunchtime;
- It controls emotional eating and prevents out-of-control cravings that lead to bingeing.
- It increases the ability to focus and improves mental performance.
- It reduces inflammation in the body that can lead to more serious problems such as diabetes or heart disease.
The benefits of breakfast aren’t just for children and teenagers: skipping a meal is known to have immediate and delayed consequences on both brain and mind performance, so adults need to consider their breakfasts too.
Eat Healthily, Feel Healthier
It’s all in our heads. If we want to develop a healthy lifestyle, we should start with what we eat. It affects our mood, energy, and daily performance.
A healthy breakfast can not only provide us with the necessary nutrients and minerals we need to be productive and energized throughout the day but also help us feel better about ourselves. Eating a balanced breakfast will reduce cravings, regulate appetite and even balance our mood thus giving us more control over hunger and body weight.
More than that, it is very important to fuel our brain on a regular basis in order for it to work at its full capacity. So why not start from how we feed it?
Brought to you by the team at F45 Peckham Rye
