Reasons Not To Ditch Breakfast

Besides for the fact that breakfast foods are some of my favorites—I’m a bit of a cereal addict—there are many other reasons why I make sure to eat breakfast everyday. First off, I wake up hungry. Perhaps people who wake up without stinging hunger pangs actually consider whether or not they should have breakfast, but I have never been one of those people. I wake up hungry, and so I eat.

If eating breakfast doesn’t come as naturally to you, you may want to reconsider your morning routine. Studies show that people who eat breakfast every morning are happier, healthier, and maybe even smarter. And unlike other health/happiness/intelligence research which can always be proven in the opposite direction, you will be hard pressed to find an anti-breakfast party. In fact, I think it’s pretty safe to say that everyone agrees that breakfast is best. Here’s why:

Health benefits of breakfast:
•    Breakfast-skippers actually tend to be more overweight than faithful daily breakfast-eaters. This may seem unintuitive, but the reason is simple: If you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to binge later on and give in to cravings that hit when you’re hungry—usually high fat and high sugar foods. And soon enough you may just find yourself on a nasty diet pill rollercoaster.
•    Also, when you skip a meal, your body transitions into starvation mode and your metabolism begins to hibernate. As soon as you do get food (later on in the day), your body is so grateful to finally have some grub in its system that it holds onto it greedily, not knowing when its next meal will be, not unlike a squirrel who hordes food for the winter. Your body then stores the food as fat instead of metabolizing it and using it for fuel—hence the weight gain.
•    Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast in the morning can reduce your risk of life-threatening diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease (high cholesterol, clogged arteries), and stroke. It strengthens your immune system and reduces your chances of contracting colds and the flu.

Mental benefits of breakfast:
•    Hunger can negatively affect memory and concentration. Likewise, having a belly full of healthy food will allow you to focus more on tasks, activities, and thoughts not food related. This is important for school children and adults with careers who need to focus on their work—a healthy breakfast should do the trick, especially since breakfast-eaters are less likely to suffer from hyperactivity (ADD and ADHD).

And how will eating breakfast make you a happier person? Well weren’t you listening? You’ll be thinner. Your digestive system and metabolism will work more smoothly. You’ll be able to focus on your school work or your job, not to mention use your heightened memory and concentration on other important tasks. Studies even show that breakfast-eaters reduce their risk of suffering from anxiety and depression.

Breakfast-eaters are, in a word, happier. Don’t you think it’s time you tried it?