Many of us skip breakfast, aiming to hop on the intermittent fasting bandwagon, hoping to cut calories, or simply running out of time to manage morning food intake. Balanced blood sugar is important for all aspects of our lives, and so it’s worth taking a look at the research available to see what impact skipping breakfast may have. For those looking to manage ADHD, increase concentration, balance hormones, manage anxiety, keep stress levels down, and optimize body composition, this research is important. Based on the latest research, breakfast is actually THE most important meal of the day in terms of keeping our blood sugar balanced and our stress hormones at bay. Our bodies strive to keep blood sugar at optimal levels, and anything outside that optimal range can be considered a stress on the body. Let’s take a look at a few scenarios to get a better understanding of what goes on inside our bodies to determine if we should skip breakfast.
Skipping breakfast
When we wake, our blood sugar levels are usually low. We may or may not feel hungry, but when we skip breakfast altogether, our blood sugar levels usually dip, leading to a release of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones signal for the release of glucose into the blood from their temporary storage sites in the body. If we drink coffee at this point, we ramp up the cortisol production and invite the body to release even more blood sugar. This leads to elevated blood sugar without even having touched food. The cost of this self-regulation is the circulation of stress hormones. As result, the body will then have a harder time keeping blood sugar levels in a healthy range due to the dip and consequential rise in blood sugar. Both low and high blood sugar states create challenges with concentration and mood. If you’re experiencing either end of the spectrum, you’ll likely feel irritable, agitated, anxious, moody, and unable to concentrate.
Eating carb-heavy foods for breakfast
While bagels, fruit, toast, muffins, pancakes, juice, and donuts are all delicious, when they are eaten without protein, they can wreak havoc on our blood sugar. When we eat carbs, our bodies turns them into sugar and burns it up quickly. The sugars get used up, and our blood sugar drops quickly without the slower-burning backup fuel of protein and fat. This dip in blood sugar creates an emergency state that forces our body to release cortisol and adrenaline, which tell the body to release the temporary stores of glucose stored in our liver and muscles. When we feel shaky, agitated, or hangry, this is what is going on inside our body. Concentration tanks, anxiety increases, and the stress hormones flood our system again.
Long term impact of stress hormones – sex hormone issues
If we regularly deprive our bodies of balanced meals, we will stop feeling hunger in the morning. A lack of hunger in the morning is often a sign that our system is in overdrive and needs more consistent, balanced fuel. Intense blood sugar fluctuations, food sensitivities & allergies, external stressors, and sometimes hidden infections will all contribute to stress overload and hormone imbalances. If you’re dealing with PMS, menstrual issues, menopausal symptoms, or infertility, addressing blood sugar balance is a top priority. The exaggerated blood sugar fluctuations caused by imbalanced meals signal the body to release more cortisol than is normally needed. Cortisol and sex hormones share some building blocks (like pregnenolone), so if the adrenals keep producing cortisol, then sex hormone production will naturally decrease, leading to hormonal symptoms.
Long term impact of stress hormones – thyroid & digestive issues
If the body continually perceives stress, it’ll eventually downregulate thyroid function and digestion. The body sees stress as a life or death situation, and so the body will begin to downregulate anything that is doesn’t consider a priority while battling the stress. If we are being chased by a lion, our body isn’t thinking about digestion, reproduction, or metabolism. It is concerned with keeping blood sugar high so that we can run or battle as needed and shuttling all nutrients toward our fight or flight response. This means that skipping meals can create thyroid issues, lead to weight gain and insulin resistance, and also cause fatigue.
Eating a balanced breakfast with carbs, protein, and fats
If our breakfast consists of a protein (like eggs, sausage, protein powder, or beans) alongside carbs and healthy fats, our bodies proceed comfortably through breaking down the macronutrients into fuel. We avoid triggering stress hormones, keep inflammation levels down, and have better insulin sensitivity. Considering that insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes, we want to avoid it. Eating a nutrient-dense, macronutrient-balanced breakfast will help to balance blood sugar throughout the day.
Breakfast Ideas
You can get some great recipes by searching the internet for nutrient-dense breakfast ideas (look for Whole 30 or autoimmune paleo protocol breakfasts), but here are a few to get you started. Here’s a link to an article on eating breakfast from an Autoimmune Wellness perspective. When I am looking for nutrient-dense ideas, I often do a search in Pinterest for AIP (autoimmune paleo protocol) breakfasts.
- LEFTOVERS! If your dinner had a balance of protein, carbs, and fat – why not eat the leftovers for breakfast? Heat them up or eat them cold.
- Omelettes with veggies, butter, and a side of toast or potatoes
- Sausage with sweet potato, toast, or oatmeal (you can batch cook & freeze the patties!)
- Overnight oats with nuts, seeds, or protein powder
- Breakfast casserole
- Egg-free breakfast casserole
Research
-Skipping breakfast leads to suboptimal glucose levels and could potentially lead to type 2 diabetes
-Habitually skipping breakfast is associated with chronic inflammation
-Breakfast skipping associated with depression and stress in Spanish teens
–Compilation of research on The Whole View Podcast