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Dr. Fuhrman Dr. Fuhrman

To breakfast or not to breakfast

There are not many things that (almost) all nutritionists and self proclaimed health experts agree on, but the importance of a good, solid breakfast is undisputed. Or so I thought.

I recently read two books that challenge this view:

Simple Food for the Good Life

Both books argue that most people are not hungry in the morning. And why eat when you're not hungry? (See also: Three stubborn weight loss myths).

There are two arguments that are usually given to advocate a solid breakfast:

  1. If you do not eat breakfast, you will get hungry before lunch, and be tempted to grab an unhealthy snack.
  2. If you do not eat breakfast, your body will think: Panic! Hunger! Shortage! and will quickly start storing all calories that you eat the rest of the day as fat.
Mc Donald's Breakfast

Both arguments are not very convincing. If you know you get hungry at 10 AM, just make sure you have something healthy to eat then. Don't eat junk food. It may be true that eating breakfast speeds up your metabolism so you can eat a few more calories, but why would you want that, if you do not feel like eating in the first place?

You should of course eat breakfast if you are hungry, but I see no reason to force yourself to eat in the morning, just because you are supposed to.

March 18, 2006