Why eat breakfast?

Camille Schwartz

 

When my alarm goes off at 8 a.m. every morning I have a decision to make: should I get up and make myself go to breakfast or hit the snooze button?  There are some days when I am very tempted to take the extra 20 minutes of snooze time, yet I usually force myself out of bed and go to breakfast. Why?  Because I know if I don’t by 10 a.m. my teacher’s lecture will be drowned out by the thundering sound coming from my stomach.

I am also aware that with the hectic nature of college life, sometimes breakfast seems more like a luxury than a reality. As one of my friends told me today, “I only treat myself to breakfast on the weekends.”  Though many nutritionists claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, many college students I know are high functioning without eating breakfast.

However, other evidence suggests that skipping breakfast does affect a student’s ability to focus during classes. In a study of the breakfast benefits for college students, conducted by Gregory W. Phillips, a natural science professor at Blinn College, undergraduates who ate breakfast tended to have higher exam scores. While we sleep, the glucose levels in our body are depleted. “Without glucose,” explains Terrill Bravender, professor of pediatrics at Duke University, “our brain simply doesn’t operate as well.”

Breakfast may also have an impact on our bodies’ abilities to maintain a healthy weight. A study of 19,000 Americans called NHANES III found that non-breakfast eaters are more likely to overcompensate for the loss of important vitamins and minerals at breakfast by eating more “fat-rich, high-energy foods later in the day.”

Research also suggests that skipping breakfast may cause our metabolisms to slow down. Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke University Medical School Diet & Fitness Center, explains that “when you don’t eat breakfast, you’re actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you’re not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.”

It is equally important to have an understanding of what types of foods we should be eating at breakfast. Monica Reinagel, host of the “Nutrition Diva” podcast, suggests that we follow the rule of five at breakfast, by eating foods with at least five grams of fiber, five grams of protein, and less than five grams of sugar.

Here are some breakfast ideas for different schedules:

1) On days when I have more time in the morning I ask for three scrambled egg whites with Feta cheese, spinach and tomatoes (high protein, low fat) and have a piece of whole wheat toast (high fiber).

2) When I don’t have time for eggs, I usually heat up some almond milk (high in protein) in the microwave and mix it with two packs of plain Quaker oatmeal (low sugar). On top of the oatmeal, I mix yogurt, nuts and fruit (high in vitamins) for additional flavor.

3) When I am in a rush, I grab a banana (high in potassium) and mix it with some plain Greek yogurt (high in protein) and honey for an extra energy boost.

So the next time you have the option of pressing the snooze button or grabbing a bite to eat before classes, consider the health benefits that go along with eating breakfast. If you’re like me, you may end up feeling more energized.

Camille Schwartz is a writer for The Voice and can be reached for comment at CSchwartz14@wooster.edu. She writes a blog about healthy living called “Conscious Indulgence” which can be found at consciousindulgence.blogspot.com.