You've probably heard time and again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But is skipping breakfast really that bad for you?
As it turns out, when you eat can be just as important as what you eat.
According to a study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, meal timing can have an effect on your risk for conditions such as heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, and reduced insulin sensitivity.
For the study, researchers from Columbia University analyzed previous studies on breakfast and heart disease, finding that people who eat breakfast daily were less likely to have high cholesterol and blood pressure. Meanwhile, those who skipped breakfast and snacked throughout the day were more likely to have poor nutrition and were at a higher risk of being diagnosed with diabetes.
To be specific, those who skipped breakfast had a 27% increased risk of suffering from a heart attack, and a 15% higher risk of having a stroke.
"Meal timing may affect health due to its impact on the body's internal clock," Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD., lead author of the study, told The Telegraph. Dr. St. Onge explained that this could be explained by studies on animals, which have shown that when they receive food during inactive states (such as when resting or sleeping), their internal clocks are reset in a way that can change their metabolism, leading to insulin resistance.
However, she said, more research would have to be done to determine whether this process happens in humans, as well.
That being said, it couldn't hurt to start making breakfast a priority. But if mornings are hard enough without having to figure out what to eat, we totally get it — and we've got a few quick, breakfast ideas for when you're rushing out the door.
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