The Benefits of Breakfast
By Nancy Gottesman
It’s Monday morning and you’re racing out the door, as usual. You barely had time to make yourself presentable, let alone eat something. But if you skip breakfast, you’ll pay for it later. Here’s why:
• First, there’s the energy factor. Your brain needs glucose from food – especially good carbs – in order to work well. No breakfast means a brain-energy slump by midmorning.
• Skipping breakfast can lead to an increase in LDL (“bad” cholesterol) levels, according to a study by researchers at the University of Nottingham in England.
• Going without breakfast means you likely will eat more throughout the day. People who eat breakfast, on the other hand, get their metabolism humming and tend not to consume as many calories during the entire day, so they wind up weighing less than those who don’t eat breakfast.
• Finally, you may be jeopardizing your long-term health. The same University of Nottingham study found that those who skipped breakfast were more resistant to insulin. Insulin resistance increases the risk of developing diabetes.
