Perhaps you don’t have time for breakfast or you aren’t hungry when you wake up. If so, you may have wondered if skipping breakfast is bad for you.
Recent studies have found that compared to people who eat breakfast, those that don’t eat breakfast tend to have less healthy diets because they rely on foods that have more simple sugars and fats and have fewer vitamins and minerals. Breakfast foods are often a great source of nutrition typically lacking in our diets, like fiber. Also, skipping breakfast may cause you to be less alert and affect your energy levels. If you have an important meeting or if you are exercising in the morning, breakfast might be important to help you perform your best.
If you want to skip breakfast or it just doesn’t appeal to you, there are some ways to help you get to lunch and meet your nutritional needs. If you’re going to skip breakfast…
- Eat a good dinner the night before. Make sure you have enough protein, and complex carbohydrates, and make the fats healthy ones.
- Drink water as soon as you wake up to make sure you stay hydrated.
- Avoid high-calorie beverages. Some morning beverages can have as many calories as an entire breakfast!
So, can you skip breakfast? Unless you are on a medication that should be taken with food, skipping breakfast now and then won’t hurt you. Missing breakfast every day, however, means you are missing out on some important nutrients and energy for your brain.
For more on breakfast:
Were U Wondering: Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? (Video with Dr. Beth Olson)