Importance of Healthy Breakfast: SideEffects of Skipping
Breakfast is the most missed meal especially during weekdays when people are rushing to go to the office, school or any appointments. Adults are often running late for work because they have not waked up early. Same is true for children going to school, where they don’t respond to the alarm and woke up late. They say that breakfast is the most important meal in a day, but is the most taken for granted.
People also skip breakfast for weight loss purposes, but is not very effective because skipping meals leads to hunger and increase in the amount of food you eat during lunchtime. Missing breakfast also leads to more frequency of snacks during the day, which increases the consumption of unhealthy, high calorie foods.
So why it is that breakfast becomes so very important? Here are reasons why one should not skip this early meal:
Uses of Breakfast
Breakfast gives energy.
Breakfast provides the energy required by the body to perform activities for the day. Energy comes from glucose that is found in foods. It is needed by the body to maintain body processes and metabolism. When a person does not eat breakfast, the tendency is having low energy throughout the day. The presence of energy gives the person 100% ability in doing daily tasks. The time interval from supper up to waking up is too long, which leads to decrease in glucose levels in the blood, which needs refueling by eating breakfast.
Breakfast enhances brain functioning
Glucose is also important in the brain’s function. Without glucose, there is decrease in mental alertness and critical thinking. A study has showed that children who eat breakfast perform better in school in terms of cognitive and motor skills. This is also the same for adults. Eating breakfast helps people in daily tasks that involve cognitive functioning. Breakfast also enhances memory and concentration.
Breakfast improves the mood
Changes in mood are caused by a reduction in serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that improves the mood and general well-being. The synthesis of serotonin is dependent on the presence of carbohydrates. When breakfast is missed, there is too little carbohydrate in the body that will stimulate the synthesis of serotonin leading to a bad mood. Eating breakfast provides a steady level of serotonin that promotes stable mood and general well-being.
Healthy Weight Maintenance
As opposed to the notion that missing breakfast helps in weight reduction, eating breakfast in fact helps in regulating the body weight. Skipping breakfast may lead to starvation during midday because of too little glucose is in the blood from supper. This results in increased hunger and increased consumption of food by lunch. As a result, more calories are placed in the body. In addition, skipping meals also lead to over eating of snacks because the person feels hungry even before lunchtime. Because of this, people would just get anything to eat, which is sometimes not healthy and has empty calories. As a result, there is increased risk for obesity among people who do not eat breakfast according to one study done. To prevent this, eating breakfast is the key. Breakfast provides adequate glucose needed during the day, which prevents overeating by lunchtime and a reduction in eating snacks during the day.
Breakfast increases family bonding
Eating breakfast not only improves the physical well-being, but the family dynamics as well. Eating breakfast together at the start of the day gives motivation and allows parents to give advice on what their children are going to do during the day.
Breakfast increases sense of responsibility
The consumption of breakfast means that family members are required to get up early rather than putting the alarm on snooze. Motivating one’s self to eat breakfast also motivates the person to sleep early at night, in order to rise early to prepare and eat breakfast. It is said that people who are able to eat breakfast have better time management skills.
Sideeffects of skipping breakfast
These are the most common reasons why breakfast is so important. It is best to start the day right in order to end it right. The most common sideeffects of skipping breakfast include:
- Weakness or lack of energy
- Poor concentration
- Poor memory
- Poor performance
- Mood changes
- Gastritis and abdominal cramps
- Bad breath (absence of food in the stomach produces unpleasant odor through the mouth)
- Overeating when one has the opportunity
Suggestions for good breakfast
In order to have a good breakfast to start the day, here are some suggestions:
Eat breakfast early. It is best to eat breakfast few minutes after waking up. However, if you are not used to eating breakfast early, you can take small meals such as a toast or boiled egg, and eat more food after an hour.
Eat appropriate foods during breakfast. Breakfast is the time where one should eat a complete meal to have nutrients needed for the day. A complete breakfast consists of carbohydrates, proteins, fats and fiber. Carbohydrates fuel energy for the day and are found in rice, bread, grains, root crops, pasta and others. Protein is also essential for building and repairing cells. It also builds muscles for more strenuous activities. Fats in the form of polyunsaturated fats may be found in vegetable oils and fish oils. Fats provide essential fatty acids for body processes. During breakfast, the most important composition is carbohydrates because this gives available energy throughout the day.
Don’t rush eating. Rushing tends to eating only small portions of the meal. It is better to allot at least 30 minutes during breakfast to enjoy the meal and focus for the following activities. Rushing also lead to a flight and fight response, which depletes energy stores.
Breakfast indeed is the most important meal because this starts our day. Breakfast breaks the fast while we are asleep and restores the proper glucose levels that we need throughout the day. People should consider eating breakfast, but should also consider the quality of the meal and the time spent on it to have a good, quality breakfast.