Breakfast, The people who skip this one miss the most important meals By Nebil Abdillahi Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day and it is also the one most neglected. Breakfast literally means break fast. It’s also the first meal we eat after 10 to 12 hours of an empty stomach. However, for some people the word breakfast does not exist in their vocabulary. Studies have shown that a well balanced breakfast is essential for mental and physical efficiency, and skipping breakfast usually can lead to serious problems, such as a heart attack, obesity, and lack of concentration. The heart attack is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and one in every five adult Americans has some form of cardiovascular disease. The cause of cardiovascular disease varies from person to person. The most common causes, however, are diet and lack of exercise. Recently scientists discovered another interesting leading cause of heart attack: “the skipping of breakfast.” Over the years, numbers of researchers have shown that there is a link between skipping breakfast and heart attacks. Researchers have recently come up with profound study. According to Science News magazine, a preliminary study suggested “people who shun breakfast, compared with those who enjoy a hearty repast, may spend their morning at higher risk of problem at higher risk of problems, including heart attacks. Another study observed that school children who skipped breakfast had higher cholesterol levels than those who ate breakfast. High cholesterol level is associated with high risk of heart disease. Those children who regularly ate breakfast of ready-to eat fiber cereal had lower cholesterol levels than the other group. One of the main reasons is that since the mid-1980s, physicians have observed that heart attacks are most likely to occur within a few hours after waking up. Studies hint that an increased tendency of blood flow in arteries already narrowed by atherosclerotic plaque is a cause. Both studies concluded that chronic breakfast skippers should be encouraged to eat breakfast to improve their nutritional status and possibly reduce risk of future heart attacks. Breakfast is one of the easiest and enjoyable meals of the day. It’s also the meal that is most ignored, especially among women, where the word breakfast has become synonymous with weight. Skipping breakfast can lead to obesity. If you are one of millions of Americans who omit breakfast in order to lose weight, by now you may wonder about your effort. According to time life books, “In several recent studies, two groups of subjects fed only once a day, either at breakfast or at dinner, both consumed the same number of calories. Most of the subjects lost more weight on the morning regimen.” One of the main reasons was that breakfast skippers were more likely to snack later and consume snacks high in calories and fat than the breakfast eaters. It’s my experience that anyone who tries to fast or has little food through out the day knows that when it comes to dinner, we tend to stuff our self with large quantities of food. Also, by not eating food for long periods time, this slows our metabolic rate. According to Rose Schwartz, Toronto nutritionist, “Not eating food slows our metabolism rate, and people wind up burning off calories even less quickly, which can lead to obesity.” Over the years, well balanced breakfasts have been shown to improve our mental performance. I remember not too long ago when I started college, like most freshmen, I used to skip breakfast. I always found the task of eating an early breakfast unpleasant. As a result, I had difficulty concentrating and staying alert in class, and everyone who goes to school knows what it means to sit in class with out concentrating –there is no knowledge. According to Nautilus Magazine, “Most research shows that missing breakfast impairs both the attention span and performance.” Studies for both children and adults showed that eating breakfast maximized work output, and improved alertness, problem solving, and paying attention. Another report show 10 years of study 7,000 people in California who often skipped breakfast. The skipped did not live a long as long as people who eat breakfast almost every day. It’s obvious one’s success in life really depends on how well the person takes his/her time to eat a well-balanced breakfast.
This article is for information purposes only. It is not
meant to diagnose, treat or prevent any disease or condition. Consult
your primary health care provider if you have or suspect you have any
physical ailments |