Eating Breakfast is Only Half the Story

For what seems like forever nutritionists have been urging people not to skip breakfast. A number of studies show that skipping breakfast is directly correlated to weight gain- breakfast-skippers are far more likely to be overweight or obese than those who eat breakfast on a regular basis.

Eating breakfast also correlates with better performance and concentration at school and work, better energy and improved well-being.

But God is in the details, and those of us who have been on the breakfast bandwagon seemed to have left out one of the most important of those details: what's on the breakfast menu.

Because all bets are off if you choose the wrong foods, breakfast or no-breakfast.

In a new study just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers did indeed confirm once again that breakfast-eaters in general eat less calories during the day, and that women breakfast -eaters (but not men) have lower BMIs (a measure of overweight).

But the study also showed that when you eat a really high-calorie breakfast you're more likely to eat more calories during the day, not less- and that the average intake of important nutrients like calcium falls!

When you think about it, this makes sense.

Really high-calorie breakfasts are almost certain to include junk like pastries, donuts, super-calorie lattes and other "foods" that have nothing to do with reaping the benefits of a solid, high-protein, low-calorie breakfast that's been shown to moderate cravings and weight gain. In fact a high calorie junk food breakfast is far more likely to lead to cravings and overeating during the day- exactly the opposite of what you want.

The moral of the story: Don't skip breakfast. But do skip the donuts.