Guest Post by John Stossel
I skipped breakfast again this morning. I won’t worry about it.
Yes, I’ve heard the advice. “It’s the most important meal of the day.” It balances blood sugar levels, kick-starts your metabolism, stimulates the brain, etc.
A Harvard University study said men who regularly skip breakfast have a 27 percent higher risk of suffering a heart attack. 27 percent!
But I’m not worried, because I now know there’s no proof that skipping breakfast causes heart attacks or any other problem.
In my latest video, nutritionist Dr. Ruth Kava points out that just about all the claims about breakfast being especially important are unproven.
Those Harvard researchers actually say it “remains unknown whether specific eating habits … influence … heart disease risk.”
Strokes and heart attack news persists in part because people who skip breakfast tend to have other bad habits, like smoking.
But the breakfast bunk keeps coming.
Several years ago, the government announced that skipping breakfast may make you fat. Of course, the media jumped on that one. “Missing breakfast tricks your brain into thinking you want higher-calorie foods,” says WebMD.
“Far from making you fat, breakfast actually helps activate your metabolism so you start burning fat,” says StepToHealth.com.
But it’s not true, shows a new analysis by the British Medical Journal.
“They looked on a number of different studies, and they did not find that eating breakfast … helped people lose weight,” says Kava.
The government has backed away from its claim.
Why did researchers and the government get it so wrong?
Partly because eating habits are hard to study. You can’t follow test subjects for years, continuously controlling what they eat.
So, many studies are based on what people say they ate. Some people forget. Or lie.
Many of us have been suckered by studies funded by cereal makers. Five of 15 studies mentioned by the government in its breakfast push were funded by General Mills or Kellogg.
“Yeah, well, they’re the ones that are interested in having their products sold,” says Kava.
On its cereal boxes, Kellogg touted that study that found people who didn’t eat breakfast could lose weight by starting to eat cereal or breads for breakfast instead of skipping breakfast altogether or eating meat and eggs.
“Don’t get your nutrition education from cereal boxes,” says Kava.
In fairness, cereal companies don’t always try to spin the results. One study funded by Quaker Oats found skipping breakfast was associated with weight loss in people who were overweight. Instead of ignoring the result, Quaker Oats actively pushed the researchers to publish the data.
Even cereal boxes might be better sources of information than television, though.
“Sesame Street” is more reliable than most shows, but even there, Michelle Obama told Grover he was probably tired because he hadn’t had a “healthy breakfast!”
While it’s true that a hungry child may not do well in school, Obama tells Grover, “Everybody should have a healthy breakfast.”
Not true. You need nourishment, but there’s no good evidence it has to come at a specific time of day.
“Eat breakfast if you’re hungry. If not, eat a little later,” advises Kava.
Of course, the key to good health isn’t just to do whatever you feel like doing. Our appetites can lead us astray. Smoking kills. Some tempting foods are unhealthy.
But years of consumer reporting have taught me that moderation and common sense are better guides than the hyped warnings from government and the media.
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Cereal = GMO
Cereal= Rotten Teeth
The Worst Food for Tooth Decay
Grape Nuts are packed with fiber and no added sugar. I have a bowl now & then with blueberries, nothing wrong with that. Captain Crunch et.al. OTOH are poison.
As for it being the worst food for tooth decay, I’d have to go with soda. Holy crap 9+ teaspoons of sugar in every can. I’ve seen many a mouthful of snaggily teeth on people who loves them some pop.
As for a regular breakfast, on gym days, I really need a substantial one after my workout. Just no way around that.
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So odd General Mills or Kellogg would fund a study on eating breakfast…On another note, how about eating when you’re hungry and not eating when you’re not hungry!
If you lift heavy and want to gain muscle, eat breakfast.
Food equals energy for the human body. It is a good idea to put some in your body if you have not eaten for 12 hours.
…”Obama tells Grover, “Everybody should have a healthy breakfast.”
Not true. You need nourishment, but there’s no good evidence it has to come at a specific time of day.
“Eat breakfast if you’re hungry. If not, eat a little later,” advises Kava.
Nothing wrong in Michael Obama’s statement on it’s own, with the key word HEALTHY.
Kava’s words are even better…mentioning nourishment, and the timing of breakfast or your 1st daily meal
as not all that important.
No sugar. No cereal, no pop tarts, no processed juice with HFCS.
There’s your obesity problem in kids, right there, especially is lots of carbs are part of the routine.
Maybe some fruit. Some cage free eggs, maybe a little meat, w/ a reasonably healthy bread. Coffee, tea.
For adults, each person should figure out what works best for their metabolism.
My experience has been, if I gorge out on a he-man lumberjack mega breakfast,
(3 eggs, hash browns, toast, and the meat from a small farm animal, or
pancakes / waffle with syrup or whipped cream)…UGH.
I bog down, physically and mentally, and want a nap almost immediately.
A friend of mine (with a gut) can’t do anything before whipping up something to eat in the a.m.
His metabolism is different than mine. After eating, he goes right into working mode, so it works for him.
Them’s my 2 cents.
Anon –
Skip the carbs from that big breakfast and see if you have the same “bogged down feeling” after. I am going to bet not.
And, if’n I’m right then maybe backing off carbs (ie. under 2 oz per day) for a month or six would be good for you. What you describe is a good indicator of a compromised insulin reaction. Hash browns, toast, pancakes, waffle, syrup are all “fast carbs” which your body recognizes as pretty much plain old sugar.
Having your “next day” meal no sooner than 16 hours after the evening meal is also pretty helpful in training your body towards burning fat and gives pancreas and liver a break from sugar dosing problems.
Da P
My Breakfast:
1 Egg
1 Slice whole grain bread
1 Slice pork roll
1 slice cheese
16 oz black coffee with cinnamon.
Half of this:
Fair tucker.
Robert (QSLV)
Looks yummy. HSF taught about yolks ought to be deep dark orange, not light yellow.
Thx, Robert, & der Prof.
Wheat and grains. Promoted by people who produce the stuff. I have a book where the doctor says to stay away from the stuff. I eat eggs and some meat. I skip lunch.
Wheat and grains have kept we poor souls alive for thousands of years, I wonder how? I too skip lunch.
True, “old white guy”! Without agriculture, no grains, no advanced civilization. (Not dissing potatoes here, they played a similar role in some places.)
BUT…up until about 60 years ago there were other factors in play that minimized the bad effects seen these days. Let’s talk wheat first…
1) Flour was not milled to the same degree of whiteness.
2) Commercial bread was fermented a LOT longer (over 24 hours, now down to about 3) and the yeast chewed up more of the freely available “fast carbs” and other items.
3) Commercial bread’s dough formula was largely limited to 4-6 ingredients as bakeries were small-scale and had trained bakers who knew how to roll with the changes in flour quality. Now? Try 27-34 ingredients, most of them not things you would expect to find outside of a chemical supply house. There is a lot of sugar now added to the dough in late fermentation. The yeast don’t get to use it, it is meant to survive into the final loaf to help keep it shelf-stable.
Corn:
Until the debut of “Fritos” and/or tortilla chips (30’s through 40’s), who had exposure to them? Now, try to avoid them… or high fructose corn syrup. It takes work to keep corn out of your system these days.
Barley:
Which most people get via beer. Beer used to be a nutritive beverage with the pleasant side effect of relaxation. The European monks perfected the art of brewing so as to make “liquid bread”. They could drink during the Lenten days so as to keep their strength up during the day’s manual labor without violating the requirement for fasting.
Then it began to be a “refreshment beverage”…Again, major changes here since the 30’s and 40’s.
A reduction in alcohol content, elimination of most of the proteins and minerals available, and you get the “lawnmower beer” of today. Drink all you want, get stupid drunk, and still you get virtually no nutrition.
The old-style beer leaves one full and satisfied at one, maybe two beers. Plenty of good nutrition there.
Making your own beer is pretty easy after learning with a couple batches. More accessible than the cost for craft brews as well. If you ever get interested, grab a copy of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie Papazian. Clear and concise in every edition.
Da P
Gimme all that gmo breakfast junk, loaded with pesticides! Kill ALL the good intestinal flora and wonder why we’re fat (or just bloated). Better yet, skip the formalities of bowl, spoon, and cow juice and chop a line of “engineered” beet sugar and snort it
Cancer feeds on sugar….Cereal is not good…
A Hasidic rabbi died in Brooklyn a few days ago, age 95- a hundred thousand people at his funeral. Turns out this guy is my new hero. Hated modern technology. He would destroy a television each Passover. Slept on the floor his whole adult life.
Anyway, he limited himself to one modest meal a day and lived to 95. My aunt recently passed at age 90. She weighed 100 lbs for the past 30-40 years. Maybe something to denying yourself big meals.
Studies have shown , eat less to live longer .
Yep, and on a very repeatable basis. Thanks for raising the point, Flash.
Da P
“Maybe something to denying yourself big meals.”
Skip a few meals you porker.
For 36 years I fasted two days in a row every week. It’s not a weight-loss diet; it’s a health diet. When I ate 7 days a week, I was tired, run-down and mentally foggy. Now I have more energy, need less sleep and I’m mentally sharper.
I wrote a blog article about the benefits and drawbacks of fasting if you care to read it.
Recently I discovered the benefits of longer fasts and I now fast 3 days in a row every week and once a month I do a 7-day fast. I have lost weight with longer fasts (down 35 lb in 3 months) and I’ve had some incredible metabolic ‘resets’ to my health.
In regards to breakfast, we have only eaten breakfast for about a century thanks to the marketing campaigns by food companies. Until the 20th century, we did not eat breakfast because it was considered a sin to eat before morning mass. In the distant past, most people ate one meal a day. Roman soldiers and Spartans only ate supper. So, no, we don’t need to eat breakfast. In fact, we don’t need to eat every day.
For what it’s worth, I’m 68, have no chronic illnesses and I’m on zero meds. The doctor was astounded at my recent blood work, stool analysis and an ECG. He said I’m healthier than he is at half my age.
Breakfast is only needed when feasting on the hearts of your slain enemies. Oh and if you are buying into shit carbs from cereal. Steak, chicken breast or another form of protein from beef, poultry or fish. Especially if you are a lifter. 6,000 calories per day and 8 meals a day barely kept weight on me during prime power lifting years. Caveman it responsibly and you will not have any issues unless you are a genetic misfit.
Patient to doctor in the doctor’s office:
“Eat less and exercise more? That’s it? That’s your solution? And you call yourself a DOCTOR?”
I always wondered what they meant on Saturday morning cereal commercials back in the 60s-70s when they said that “Cereal X is part of this Complete Breakfast”.
What the h*ll is a “Complete Breakfast”???
A question in response to your question:
Eating my french toast, dripping with maple syrup, off of Jessica Alba’s tushy?
I am compelled to jump into the fray.
Q: What is “The Breakfast of Champions”?
A: Jim Beam and Lucky Charms.
Busch ICE and ramen noodles
I’ll have to try that one fine morning.
As Kris Kristofferson says in “Sunday Morning Coming Down” – “And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad so I had one more for desert.”
Dessert. So sorry. Dessert. Please forgive.