Many people skip breakfast because they don’t have enough time or don’t have an appetite in the morning, not realizing the significant impact it can have on their well-being. This is a mistake and not good for your health. People should eat breakfast because it kick-starts your metabolism, and helps you burn calories throughout the day. It can also give you energy, better memory, and concentration, and lower your chances of getting diabetes, heart attack, or obesity.
The first meal sets the tone for the hours ahead. When you wake up in the morning your body has gone without food for six to eight hours or longer this causes your body’s glycogen stores to be low. This can make you feel tired.
Your body’s main source of energy is glucose. Your body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose. You don’t want your blood sugar level to get too low because it can cause many symptoms like looking pale, shakiness, sweating, headache, nausea, and anxiety. When your blood sugar level is where it needs to be you should feel energized and stable. You can experience consistent energy levels, clear thinking, and comfortable hunger patterns.
There are many physical benefits of breakfast, the main advantage is it boosts energy levels. You don’t want to be tired and feel weak all day. A nutritious breakfast supplies the carbohydrates your body needs to get through the morning. This can help you to feel energized in the morning. Another physical benefit is breakfast can improve heart health. Many studies have linked eating breakfast to lowering the risk of heart disease. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers found, “men who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27% higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who did eat a morning meal.”A balanced breakfast can help regulate cholesterol levels and blood pressure to make sure no heart disease occurs.
Furthermore, there are different emotional and mental benefits breakfast can have on you. It can help reduce stress and mood swings. If you have these mental battles and don’t eat breakfast, try to eat breakfast and see if anything changes. Researchers have found that a healthy breakfast can lead to a positive mood. The reason why it could change how you feel is because your blood sugar levels are balanced.
Another mental benefit is it can enhance your performance. Breakfast can boost your brain power. It does this because when you don’t eat for a while your brain has not received the energy it needs to keep going, so when you eat a healthy meal it can get your body charged and ready to go. According to Better Health Channel, “Studies suggest that not having breakfast affects your mental performance, including your attention, ability to concentrate and memory. This can make some tasks feel harder than they normally would.” For students in school, this can have a negative outcome. It can cause you to not focus in class or if you need to take a test and your brain power is low, you could do poorly on your test.
Choosing to eat breakfast can make you pick better food choices later in the day. People who eat breakfast tend to have healthier diets. When you skip breakfast it can cause you to eat snacks throughout the afternoon which may not have the correct nutrients your body needs. If you do skip breakfast, always try to include nutritious snacks like almonds, fresh fruit, or vegetables.
Nearly one-quarter of individuals skip breakfast. People who usually skip breakfast are older females. Some reasons why they skip are because they do not get enough sleep, they are under or overweight, and do not have high physical activity levels. There are many factors that can contribute to skipping breakfast. Changing how you operate throughout the day can make you want to eat breakfast. Common reasons for skipping breakfast are not having enough time to make food, not getting hungry enough to eat, and not having breakfast options in their house.
If you are unsure of what healthy breakfast to eat, some options are a smoothie, whole grain cereal with milk, oatmeal, and eggs. There are plenty more delicious meals to fill you up, but the ones you want to aim for are meals high in fiber, protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. You want to avoid sugary cereals, pastries, and processed foods because these can make you crash later in the day even though they might provide an energy boost in the beginning. Always try to eat breakfast because it has many pros for your health and wellness as you just read.