SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Are you dashing off to school or work on an empty stomach? This familiar phrase may pop into your mind as your stomach growls at your desk, "You’d better eat a good breakfast."
But, why has breakfast earned the reputation as the most important meal of the day? There is debate in the medical community about the risks of skipping breakfast.
Dr. Erica Scott of United Healthcare says skipping any meal on a regular basis is not a good idea.
"Breakfast is a very important meal of the day because you're breaking a fast. Your brain needs energy," said Scott.
So, you've gone all night without a meal and your body needs to be kickstarted by breaking your fast. Without it, you'll likely be ravenous by the time lunch rolls around.
"You are more likely to make healthy choices if you're not starving," said Scott.
Nutritionists at the Mayo Clinic agree that if you skip breakfast, you'll likely make unhealthy choices the rest of the day. Scott also said the best approach is to distribute your calorie intake throughout the day.
Skipping one meal in order to gorge later will only throw your metabolism into a state of confusion.
So whether it’s the king of meals or not, Mom was right: eat your breakfast, preferably a healthy one.
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