6 Biggest Myths and Truths about Breakfast l Lies about Breakfast l Should You Eat Breakfast? l Breakfast Facts

Fending off Hunger

Myth #2 If you eat breakfast, you’ll fend off hunger. If you skip it, you’ll eat much more later. In a 2013 study, Cornell University researchers either fed breakfast to or withheld breakfast from 18 student volunteers. Those who skipped breakfast were hungrier by lunch and ate more. But they didn’t eat enough to compensate for the lost meal and actually wound up consuming 408 fewer calories by the end of the day. The study’s author, David A.Levitsky, a professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell, said the findings are consistent with previous studies showing that if you skip breakfast you won’t necessarily compensate for the missed calories later that day. But it’s important to note that the Cornell study was conducted in its lab and the students only ate foods that were weighed and served there. This may not reflect the students real, snack-filled lives.

Improving Health

Myth #3: Breakfast can improve your health. According to a 16-year Harvard School of Public Health study of nearly 27,000 men, ages 45-82, those who regularly skipped breakfast had a 27 percent higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who ate a morning meal. “Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may lead to a heart attack over time,” said Leah E. Cahill, Ph.D., study lead author. Similarly, Harvard researchers studied 46,000 women over the course of six years and found that women who skipped breakfast occasionally had a 20 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes than those who ate it every day.

Breakfast is the Most Important

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Myth #6 Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast revs up your body for the rest of the day by boosting your energy and stimulating your body’s metabolism. “It’s been 9 to 12 hours since you’ve had a meal―breakfast literally means “breaking the fast”―so you need to replenish blood sugar levels,” says Lisa Dorfman, RD and author of Legally Lean: Sports Nutrition Strategies for Optimal Health & Performance (Momentum Media 2014). But don’t load up on Danishes, muffins or scones filled with sugar, butter and empty calories. To make sure your breakfast provides adequate energy and a healthy balance of nutrients, incorporate protein from lean sources (eggs, yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese); complex carbohydrates (whole-wheat toast, oatmeal, a piece of fruit); and healthy fats (nuts, seeds) into your meal.