Is it OK to skip breakfast?

You've heard of the saying 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' haven't you? Well, in fact, it is. Studies have shown time after time that people who skip breakfast perform worse in tasks within the working environment compared to those who have breakfast. If you do skip breakfast then your body will not have had food for roughly 15-16hrs. Bearing this in mind, what is your body functioning on? Pretty much nothing. It desperately needs a top up of those healthy sugars and vitamins.

When you skip breakfast you are more susceptible to snacking throughout the day. Snacking provides you with a spike (rise) in blood sugars but this spike can only be seen as a bad thing as it doesn't last for long. The instant hit of sugars allows your body to function a little more but leaves your body craving the sugar hit again in around an hour. The majority of people who skip breakfast think they will lose weight by doing so. This is most certainly not the case. A nutritious breakfast in the morning starts off your metabolism and provides you with fuel for the day and it has been proven you are more likely to lose weight this way as you have no need to snack throughout the day. Here is an example of a nice nutritious breakfast for you to try out:


1. Cereal: Something like fruit bran is perfect as it provides a good source of fibre and natural sugars with the fruit. If you have it with either semi or skimmed milk then you can avoid the fat content of whole milk.
OR
Toast: Wholemeal bread has less sugar than the white breads and provides more fibre. Spread a nice low fat margarine such as Flora Light or even Philadelphia Light.

2. Fruit: A piece of fruit such as an orange is high in natural sugars and chalks up one of your five-a-day within the first meal of your day. Perfect. Or you could have a banana instead. Bananas are classed as one of the most nutritious fruits as they contain a high level of potassium. If you plan to do exercise in your day (which I hope you do) then a banana will help your muscles to get the fuel essential for exercise and even aid in recovery.

3. Coffee: Caffeine has negatives and positives and it seems that personal preference takes over scientific evidence on most levels. Drinking a decaffeinated coffee can help you avoid headaches if you aren't used to taking on caffeine but simply leaving the milk out of a normal coffee cuts out fats.

There is compelling evidence leading to a breakfast improving performance throughout the day in the workspace or even at school. Waking up 5minutes earlier can provide you with your most important meal of the day and help you achieve better performance throughout the day. It may also save you money as you have less need to snack. Please eat breakfast as part of a healthy diet and you will reap the rewards.