It’s just as your mother always told you: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Now, new research shows that your mother (along with nutritionists and other health experts) was right, and there are important benefits to eating a healthy breakfast, especially for people who struggle with their weight, insulin resistance and heart disease-three major problems in type 2 diabetes.
Here’s the lowdown on the research, along with ideas for quick breakfasts and tips to make breakfast happen every day.
RESEARCH FROM THE CARDIA STUDY
The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study found that eating breakfast every day helped the nearly 3,000 participants reduce their risk for getting heart disease and type 2 diabetes. CARDIA was an eight—year study done from 1992—2000 with people ages 25 to 37 (in 1992). Participants were Caucasian and African—American and lived in four U.S. cities: Birmingham, AL; Chicago, IL; Minneapolis, MN; and Oakland, CA.
The researchers found that people who ate breakfast every day were less likely to become overweight or insulin resistant, compared to those who skipped breakfast often. (Insulin resistance is a condition in which glucose does not enter the cells properly. It stays in the bloodstream, causing high blood glucose, or is sent to the liver, where it is changed to fat and stored in the body.)
But the CARDIA study showed that only 47 percent of Caucasians and 22 percent of African—Americans ate breakfast every day.
According to researcher Mark A. Pereira, PhD, the results suggest that breakfast may really be the most important meal of the day. This is due to the beneficial effects of breakfast on appetite and insulin resistance.
Since this study was done with people who didn’t have diabetes, you might wonder whether eating breakfast can help if you already have type 2 diabetes. The answer is likely yes. According to the study results, it is reasonable to believe that eating a healthy breakfast can help you control your appetite and weight. It can also help reduce insulin resistance, which is almost always present in people with pre—diabetes and type 2 diabetes.
When Pereira suggested the best bets for breakfast, he listed fiber—rich whole—grain cereals, such as oatmeal and bran cereal. That’s because these foods help to decrease the risk of insulin resistance, and help to improve blood glucose and cholesterol levels, as well.
NUTRITION BOOST
There is growing evidence that a healthy breakfast helps you get the nutrition you need. Consider these findings from research studies:
- People who skip breakfast never make up for the lost nutrients later in the day.
- People who eat a healthy breakfast eat more fruits, drink more milk and eat less saturated fat throughout the course of the day. Because they choose healthier foods for breakfast, their intake of calcium and phosphorus (from dairy foods) and Vitamin C (from fruit) is higher.
WEIGHT CONTROL
There is also evidence that a healthy breakfast helps you control your calorie intake and weight. More findings include:
- When people eat only one or two large meals per day, they tend to add more body fat than when they eat the same number of calories in smaller meals spread out over the day.
- Eating a high—fiber cereal for breakfast helped people eat fewer calories at lunch.
- Women who ate the most dietary high—fiber whole grains, for example, had a nearly 50 percent lower risk of major weight gain over a 12—year period compared to women with the lowest intake of whole grains.
It’s worth taking just a few minutes out of your busy schedule in the morning for a healthy breakfast. See below for tips on how to fit it in and ideas for nutritious and delicious breakfast options.
DAIRY FOODS FOR WEIGHT LOSS?
Since when do breakfast foods, like milk, yogurt and cheese, have anything to do with weight loss? The answer is now, according to a number of studies making a connection between our low intake of dairy foods and the current increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes. So, if you skip dairy foods to save on calories, you might want to think again. Dairy foods actually may help you lose weight. Recent research shows that having at least two servings of dairy per day may reduce the risk of becoming overweight by up to 70 percent. Calcium plays an important role in how the body burns calories. Dairy foods provide the most calcium per serving. Calcium also helps the body better use the insulin it makes, so eating dairy foods is especially important for people with diabetes.
Getting the calcium you need from dairy foods works better for weight control than when the calcium is taken in pills, supplements or fortified foods. Researchers believe that other nutrients in dairy foods also help with weight loss, and have also been shown to lower blood pressure and risk for colon cancer, as published in the April 2002 edition of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. These other nutrients are Vitamins A, D and riboflavin (B2), and the minerals phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Be sure to include dairy foods on your shopping list. Fit them into your reduced—calorie eating plan and eat dairy foods for strong bones, good health, weight loss and good taste.
Tips to Make Breakfast Happen
- Plan your morning to allow at least 10 minutes for breakfast. If that’s just impossible, think up a couple of breakfasts to eat on the run.
- Always have the fixings for two or three of your favorite breakfasts on hand.
- Aim for a breakfast with foods from at least two or three food groups. For example: grain, dairy and fruit.
- Don’t define breakfast options only as breakfast foods. Eat whatever healthy foods fit your fancy-cold pizza, a bowl of soup or a cold cut sandwich.
- Set up as much as possible the night before to save time in the morning.Quick and Easy Breakfasts
- Yogurt (low— or no—fat) with dried fruit, nuts and/or mix of dry cereal*
- Breakfast shake-milk or yogurt, juice and/or fresh fruit
- Dry cereal* and milk (1% or fat—free) with fresh or dried fruit
- Dry cereal* mixed with dried fruit and nuts (have this combo pre—mixed)
- Yogurt drink (Dannon Light 'n Fit Smoothie contains less sugar than some other brands) and a piece of part skim cheese, fruit or a handful of nuts
- Sandwich: egg and melted cheese, egg and ham, melted cheese and ham, egg salad or peanut butter and sliced banana on whole—wheat bread, tortilla or pita pocket
- String cheese, whole grain crackers and an apple or banana * Mix a few cereals together-one or two that are favorites (whole—grain if possible) and one or two that are high in fiber (more than eight grams of fiber per serving, such as All—Bran with extra fiber).
