We have all heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but why is that? To start off, let me define what breakfast is for you, because this definition may not be what you think it is. Breakfast is the first meal of the day--the meal that breaks your fast from the night. Does this mean that breakfast has to be during the morning? The answer to that is no--breakfast is just when one eats first in the day.Some people like to say that they "skip breakfast" and have their first meal for lunch, but this is simply not true. While potentially untraditional, no matter when you have your first meal of the day, it is when you are breaking your fast from night.
Breakfast is very important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, breakfast is the first meal in your stomach after hours of digestion at night--this meal is the kick start to your metabolism and replenishes your body of energy. Eating a healthy breakfast is very important no matter what time it is eaten because it influences the way your body runs for the rest of the day. A healthy breakfast gives your body the fuel it needs to kick start the day and wake up all the inter-workings of your body.
While no matter when one eats breakfast, it carries a lot of important benefits; it is also important to eat in the morning. Eating three meals a day is important for sufficiently fueling your body and skipping a morning meal can lead to missing one meal entirely. Intermittent fasting is a good example of this--it is a diet consisting of cycles of eating and fasting for extended periods of time. Normally intermittent fasting involves skipping the morning meal in order to have a long enough fast. While fasting can be very beneficial to the human body and our digestion, regularly fasting and skipping meals can throw off equilibrium in the body and actually harm digestion.
Like everything in life, balance is very important and eating a good health breakfast in the morning is the best way to ensure balance throughout the day!
I hear the point of intermittent fasting, but breakfast. Come on. Its so nice to start off your day with a delicious breakfast - giving you fuel for the day! I do find it interesting, though, how fads come and go, stating that certain breakfast foods are and are not healthy on a seemingly monthly basis.
Thank you for sharing! Usually when I wake up, I'm not hungry until the afternoon. My mornings are jam packed with classes, and other obligations. Because of this, I've held this belief that I'm not really a breakfast person, but you have changed my mind! I'm sure I'm not the only person who has this "anti-breakfast" mindset, and I'm sure when coupled with inaccessibility to healthy foods, this can throw off one's health substantially.
Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day! I feel like I cherish the moments I get to actually sit and enjoy breakfast on the weekends because with class and work my breakfasts often are taken on the go. It was interesting to learn that some people only have two meals a day while practicing intermittent fasting, personally, that would be extremely difficult. I try to prioritize adding something healthy to my meals too in the AM to prolong my energy throughout the day.
Interesting post! I always thought breakfast referred to a morning meal but it's interesting to read that is not the case! I can definitely tell the difference between not eating breakfast and eating breakfast, even something simple like yogurt and fruit can give me a good boost of energy. I also think that is interesting to see different cultures and the breakfast that people eat around the world and the difference and similarities are in each breakfast, but still give all sorts of energy to the body.