Your mother was right! A mounting body of research has found that breakfast may indeed be the most important meal of the day. For example, those who eat breakfast are less likely to become overweight/obese and more likely to maintain weight loss. And, when people eat breakfast they have more balanced blood sugar levels throughout the day and are less likely to overeat at the end of the day.
An interesting recent study examined brain scans when individuals had and had not eaten breakfast. 21 healthy weight individuals were shown pictures of foods while having an MRI taken of their brain. On one day they were given no breakfast before the scans and on a different day they were fed breakfast an hour and a half before the scans. In response to low calorie foods, there was no difference between the level of activity in the participants’ orbitofrontal cortex (the area of the brain believed to be involved with food appeal). However, the brain response to high calorie items was much greater among those who had missed breakfast than those who had eaten. The researchers said skipping breakfast created a "bias" in the brain in favor of high calorie foods, making it much more difficult for the individual to make a healthy choice. When the researchers offered the participants lunch at the end of the study, people ate 20% more calories and chose less healthy items if they had missed breakfast.
What to do: Eat a healthy breakfast! A healthy breakfast should contain a combination of nutrient-rich carbohydrates such as whole grains; fruits and/or veggies; some lean dairy or other protein source such as eggwhites; not too much fat.
Adapted from article available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19962588.
No comments:
Post a Comment