Is Skipping Breakfast Bad For You?

You've heard it time and time again. Whether it's from your roommate, your dad, your mom, your grandma, even your partner, there seems to be one universal truth when it comes to breakfast:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

But can science answer this?

For breakfast eaters, mornings start with oatmeal, eggs, fruit, or breads just to get some initial fuel for the day. However, this doesn't apply to the tens of thousands of college students who skip breakfast so they can get a little more sleep, nor to your friend Paul who can't stop talking about how fasting has changed his life. They all seem fine, right?

So, without further ado, let's dive into your breakfast.

A farmer's breakfast

For classical Romans, a healthy breakfast was nothing complicated: bread, cheese, a little oil, a little honey and maybe a glass of wine. A farmer could get up early, grab some bread and goat cheese from the kitchen and waste no time before starting his long, tiring day of work.

For him and his intensive physical work meant a lot of calories burned. This particularly carbohydrate-laden meal was vital. However, most people in our society today are no longer farmers. Instead, most of us sit behind a desk for most of the day. We use our brains instead of our bodies, essentially only requiring physical energy for a daily commute, exercise, or getting up to make our next meal.

So what does this morning meal mean to people today?

A modern view on breakfast

To help us with this, we will look at the results of the International Breakfast Research Initiative [1]. Dietary data from Canada, Denmark, France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States were compiled to create an overview of breakfast and human nutrition.

Three main benefits of breakfast in this day and age are evident:

1. An increased intake of certain macro and micronutrients.
2. Overall positive health effects,
3. and the promotion of healthy eating habits with breakfast consumption.

This is very interesting information for breakfast eaters or people who skip breakfast. Let's dive deeper into each of these elements.

Macro and Micronutrients

As the name implies, the body needs a high amount of macronutrients and a lower amount of micronutrients to survive and thrive long-term.

Micronutrients.

While the amounts of these essential vitamins and minerals seem very small on paper, they are essential for living a healthy lifestyle. According to Harvard Health, failing to get even the small amounts of micronutrients your body needs “virtually guarantees disease” [2]. Not getting the right amounts of these micronutrients could contribute to some major diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis [2].

So how do you make sure you get them?

HAVE BREAKFAST.

In 2017, a US study showed that only 26% of those who skip breakfast meet two-thirds of the recommended daily intake of vitamins and minerals. This number jumps to 59% for people who did eat breakfast [1].

On top of this, study after study seems to confirm that eating breakfast correlates with a better, more varied and nutritionally complete diet [1]. This is because a healthy breakfast often consists of fruits (full of vitamins) and things like dairy and whole grains (rich in minerals).

When we talk about macronutrients, one that you will often find in breakfasts is fiber.

Fiber slows down the rate at which sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream, which reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes. Additionally, depending on the type, they can also improve the movement of food through our digestive system [3] [4].

Now, why is this important in terms of breakfast?

Well, think about some of the foods you might have after waking up: a bowl of cereal, a banana, some oatmeal, a slice of whole-grain bread, or a glass of fresh, pulpy orange juice… You guessed it: These are packed with fiber. Because of this correlation, most people get much of their daily dose of fiber from their breakfasts [1].

What you should eat for breakfast

It's time to stop skipping morning meals and stop judging your roommate for that boring bowl of cereal every morning. Join them on the breakfast train!

What you should eat for breakfast

So now you're probably wondering what you should eat for breakfast. Well, it completely depends on you and what you plan to do throughout the day.

If your job or day-to-day life requires you to do a lot of physical labor, similar to that of our Roman farmer, then you should probably be trying to match his type of breakfast. Rome wasn't built without breakfast, after all.

Therefore, try to eat foods that give energy to your body.

Carbohydrates (like fiber and sugar) are great for this; some healthy options here are whole-grain bread, oatmeal, or fruit. [5] Additionally, including protein in your diet has been shown to help boost the muscle repair process. These proteins can come from eggs and dairy products, or from vegan alternatives like soy yogurt or anything with legumes (i.e., delicious hummus). [5]

However, if you use your brain more than your body, your breakfast should include more concentration-boosting nutrients, such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidant flavonoids, and a handful of vitamins, like vitamin E and some B vitamins. These help with healthy blood pressure. It may increase blood flow and decrease stress on the brain. [6]

Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of where you can find these:

• Omega-3 : fatty fish, nuts and seeds.
• Flavonoids : dark chocolate, tea, citrus and berries.
• Vitamin E : nuts, seeds and vegetable oils.
• Vitamin B (B-6, B-12, folic acids): eggs, whole grains and legumes.

Are you hungry yet?

Breakfast as a custom

Even if, after all this, you still don't believe that breakfast is important, we have a more compelling argument up our sleeves.

If you find your routine slowly falling apart, or your hand keeps wandering to the snack drawer, breakfast can be a great way to build healthy eating habits.

One study showed that eating breakfast does not determine your weight loss . However, they found that changing your habits could help you lose weight. [7]

If you start skipping breakfast, you will soon stop feeling hungry in the morning. Unfortunately, this hunger doesn't go away - it stays in the back of your mind, causing you to fill the void in your stomach by eating more (and often less healthy) foods throughout the day. This explains why breakfast skippers often have a higher intake of added sugar, sodium, or saturated fats [1]. This can be advantageous for you if you're thinking about gaining weight . But if you're looking to lose a few kilograms, there's no indication that skipping breakfast is the way to go. If anything, you should eat something in the morning just to quell hunger later in the day.

Conclusion

The answer? You should probably eat breakfast unless you're making a conscious effort to practice something like intermittent fasting. You'll run a lower risk of disease, get some nutrients your body actually needs, and keep yourself from snacking on unhealthy foods later in the day.

If you are someone who skips meals due to lack of time, appetite or not making it to breakfast, we have some products that might help you.

Our Plenny bars can be eaten quickly with coffee or nibbled on throughout the morning to keep you full for hours. You're guaranteed to get vital nutrients and prevent overindulging later. They contain plenty of fibre, plant-based protein and 26 essential vitamins and nutrients. Twenty-six! As a result, this cocktail of ingredients in bar form certifies a solid breakfast, whether you're a farmer, an academic or neither.

Speaking of cocktails, you might also be interested in our breakfast smoothie called Plenny Shake. It contains all the nutrients your body needs!

Sources

1. Moreiras, LA Moreno, J. Smith, F. Vieux, F. Thielecke, and S. Hopkins. Breakfast in Human Nutrition: The International Breakfast Research Initiative. Nutrients, 2018. 10(5).
2. Harvard University, 2016. Micronutrients have greater impact on health. Harvard Health Publishing.
3. Slavin, J.L., Dietary fiber, and body weight. Nutrition, 2005. 21(3): p. 411-418.
4. Anderson, JW, BM Smith, and NJ Gustafson. Health benefits and practical aspects of high-fiber diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994 [cited 59 5]; 1242S-1247S].
5. National Health Service, 2017. Food and drinks for sport. National Health Services, United Kingdom.
6. K. Marengo, 2020. 12 foods to boost brain function. Medical News Today.
7. DG Schlundt, JO Hill, T. Sbrocco, J. Pope-Cordle, and T. Sharp. The role of breakfast in the treatment of obesity: a randomized clinical trial. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1992. 55(3): p. 645-651. Available from: .