Breakfast most Important?

Someone said breakfast was the most important meal and it stuck to humanity like scripture. Is it true, or just another myth, like eight glasses of water and cutting toenails straight?

What is so important about breakfast? Well...for any reason other than pleasure or starvation prevention, not much, it turns out. Re-hydration after a twelve hour fast makes sense, and some hunger when you wake up is to be expected.

Many careers have been made from studying breakfast. PubMed lists 1264 papers with ‘Breakfast’ in the title; Cochrane Library lists 2838 published trials with ‘Breakfast’ in title, abstract, or key words. These are mostly in lower-impact journals and none showed definitive results. 
Hard to fathom the time and effort when the findings were so marginal. Most researchers tested every possible measurement; one used ‘dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-derived fat mass indexes’ to ultimately show no breakfast benefit! Most are too small to have any relevance whatsoever. Sad, really, though the curiosity is admirable.

Most studies investigated breakfast and obesity. Others looked at diabetes. A few addressed cognition and mood. Most tested types of food eaten and a few looked at whether skipping breakfast had deleterious effects. In sum: nada.

Some valuable nuggets can be gleaned, however:

1. Eggs and pork sausages turned out to ‘possibly’ reduce hunger and subsequent calorie intake. Both claimed the benefit came from the protein when eggs are 50% fat and sausages are 30% fat, neither of which was factored in.

2. One tidbit of data from two studies: eating 400 mg of cholesterol (2-3 eggs) daily for up to six weeks does not increase your blood lipids or weight. This is good news.

3. A 2013 review by Public Health England looked at Breakfast and Cognition. From 37 publications, some positive effects on cognitive performance were mentioned but all were variable, small, dependent on type of assessment, and in the conclusion, ‘not possible to comment on the implications.’ Not helpful, really. If they had only looked at adding a cup of coffee…!

4. A study of oatmeal was funded and written by PepsiCo which owns Quaker Oats. Would it surprise you to learn that the researchers found some benefits from oatmeal? Insignificant, however.

So, the real question remains: Does breakfast matter?

What is clear is that breakfast is not a magic bullet for overall health, weight control, general well-being or anything else. It’s fine to skip breakfast if you are not hungry. It’s fine to eat eggs and/or sausages (in moderation), oatmeal, cereal or croissants. The precise nutrient mix is not crucial. Eat what you like.

If you feel better after having breakfast, there is your answer. If you are obese, moderation is key. Enjoy your day.

 Links:
http://james-channing-shaw.blogspot.ca/2009/10/ways-to-combat-obesity.html

http://james-channing-shaw.blogspot.ca/2009/05/myth-of-cutting-toenails-straight.html
 
https://www.jameschanningshaw.com 

The myth of 8 glasses a day

April 02, 2007|James Channing Shaw | Special to The LATimes