Difficulty Index ★★☆☆☆
Mingyu Lee '28
People who don’t wake up early in the morning often do not go to breakfast. Skipping breakfast and fasting for extra hours is not healthy. Glucose, the primary source of energy from food, is important for your body. It can be stored as glycogen in the liver and in small amounts in muscles. Your brain requires glucose for daily activities such as classes and athletic events. Eating breakfast will effectively provide glucose for you and prepare you for the day.
Blood sugar levels drop while you sleep, so eating breakfast helps to raise it back up. Insufficient blood sugar levels may lead to headaches, dizziness, sweating, and more, which can hinder your daily performance. After experiencing low levels of blood sugar in the morning, there may be a blood sugar spike after eating lunch and dinner. This may affect the glucose metabolism in your body, making people who skip breakfast more susceptible to blood sugar-associated diseases. That explains why people who don’t have breakfast are more likely to get type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
What’s more, not having breakfast also negatively affects academic performance. Without enough energy to power your brain, it may be hard to focus during class. Breakfast enhances your mental performance, concentration, and short-term memory. It also improves your comprehension throughout the day. Students who regularly have breakfast tend to perform better than those who don’t.
Breakfast can also assist brain activities that manage our emotions, moods, and behaviors. For example, serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates emotion, appetite, moods, and pain. It also engages with maintaining gastrointestinal homeostasis. While its specific role in the nervous system is still unclear, studies did show how the lack of serotonin can be associated with mood disorders. The inner processes in the digestive system can affect more than being full, but also your mental state.
A nutritionally balanced breakfast is the most important meal to start the day off. So, what kinds of food are recommended for breakfast? Food with high sodium, high sugar, and saturated fats are not recommended for breakfast. If you eat snacks that contain high levels of salt, glucose, or fats for breakfast, you are more likely to develop plaques that block arteries, stopping the bloodstream in your body. Carbohydrates containing fiber are recommended because they take more time to digest than carbohydrates without fiber, allowing our body to accumulate small amounts of energy over time. Cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber are recommended for start. Eggs, tofu, yogurts, or nuts are good sources of protein. Also, fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and milk are recommended for breakfast.
While many students prefer to skip breakfast during the morning, it is still highly recommended. Many studies can support this theory that breakfast is beneficial for your health. It is a great way to start the day and start living a healthy lifestyle. Whenever academic work or stress is piling over you, just start by going to breakfast.
Works Cited
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Tello, Monique. "Eating breakfast won't help you lose weight, but skipping it might not either." Harvard Health Publishing, 19 Apr. 2019, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/eating-breakfast-wont-help-you-lose-weight-but-skipping-might-not-either-2019041916457. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
"10 Reasons Why You Should Eat Breakfast Every Day." Florida Dairy Farmers, www.floridamilk.com/in-the-news/blog/nutrition/10-reasons-why-you-should-eat-breakfast-every-day.stml. Accessed 24 Oct. 2024.
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