Who among us has never, at least once in our lives, skipped breakfast? The reasons that lead us to this decision can be numerous: perhaps we have woken up late and have to rush to work, or that day we feel our stomachs are tight because of an important interview we have to attend in the morning. Or, more simply, we are not used to eating it.
Whatever the reason, know that depriving yourself of the first meal of the day is profoundly wrong. The truth is, in fact, that not only should you never skip breakfast, but it is also important to prepare one that is as complete as possible, starting the day with a nice full load of nutrients.
Breakfast in fact represents a kind of ‘filling up with petrol’. Eating a full one and taking the right amount of time to consume it means ensuring that you properly start up the fundamental machine that is your body.
Conversely, neglecting this very important moment of the day means depriving yourself of the energy you need to get through it. Having clarified this, therefore, let’s find out together what happens to your organism when you skip breakfast.
Is skipping breakfast good or bad?
If nutritionists agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, there must be a reason. Eating in the morning in fact means breaking the night fast and starting to set the hunger/satiety cycle that will accompany you during the rest of the day. We emphasise the use of the verb ‘to eat’ because breakfast should always include the intake of solid food, in order to avoid suffering from tiredness and/or sugar drops as early as midmorning.
Let’s say that eating as soon as you wake up is above all a matter of common sense: it allows you to get to lunch without the risk of fainting, it prevents you from mid-day binges and, in general, guarantees a better quality of life. This, of course, provided you eat a truly healthy and balanced breakfast.
We coffee connoisseurs are all too familiar with the (bad) custom of limiting breakfast to just one cup of our favourite beverage: we realise that the temptation is strong, especially when you are likely to be late for work, but it is still a bad habit. This is certainly not to say that you should give up your beloved morning espresso!
The ideal, however, would be to drink one that is rich in nutrients – a characteristic that is typical of blends prepared with lever machines. After all, it is no secret that if you want to drink good coffee, you should do so with the right machine. Browsing through our catalogue, you will find numerous models that can ensure you a quality coffee and, consequently, a truly energetic breakfast.
So, don’t wait any longer: discover the right coffee machine for you and experiment with a healthier, more balanced way of eating breakfast, bearing in mind that coffee alone is not enough. The perfect breakfast should in fact include the following nutrients:
- complex carbohydrates;
- fats;
- sugars;
- protein.
All these elements should be balanced correctly, without overdoing each other, so that we feel truly full. An example? You could prepare a breakfast of:
- rusks or wholemeal bread;
- natural yoghurt;
- jam;
- skimmed milk;
- fruit juice.
There is nothing stopping you from adding your indispensable cup of coffee, especially if you have prepared it with one of our lever machines, thus obtaining a truly nutritious brew. Taking healthy food, after all, should be a rule for the whole day.
Studies have actually not yet come to a really precise conclusion. In other words, it has not yet been scientifically proven that skipping breakfast causes negative effects on the body, such as weight gain, but, in principle, depriving oneself of this fundamental meal could still be a symptom of a poor overall diet.
What the studies say
According to a German study carried out in 2021 and published in the National Library of Medicine, there is no evidence that skipping breakfast causes weight gain.
On the other hand, however, a US study carried out by Ohio State University on more than 30,000 US citizens showed that people who do not eat breakfast deprive themselves of certain key nutrients, such as vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and D.
Not to mention the fact that the same study showed that skipping breakfast leads to a higher intake of sugar and carbohydrates during the rest of the day – a clear sign of a highly unhealthy diet.
Dr. Federica Almondo, nutritionist specialising in food science and founder of the Cerva 16 nutrition centre, is of the same opinion. In addition to agreeing entirely with the studies mentioned, the expert also recommends the importance of eating at fixed, predetermined times in order to maintain the circadian rhythm and synchronise metabolic processes.
Specifically, breakfast should be eaten between 6.30 and 8.30, to be followed by lunch served between 12.30 and 13.30. As far as dinner is concerned, on the other hand, notwithstanding the fact that the ideal would be to dine before 7 p.m., it is still sufficient not to go beyond 9 p.m.
However, this important routine risks going completely off the rails the moment one skips breakfast: a bad habit that, in the long run, could even lead to rather serious consequences.
Skipping breakfast: what are the risks
Studies have highlighted the risks you put your body at when skipping breakfast becomes a habit. By taking this bad path, you could in fact:
- alter your metabolism, reducing energy expenditure at rest and causing inevitable consequences on your overall body weight management;
- suffer from imbalances in blood sugar regulation, with the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the long term;
- suffer from hunger attacks during the day, thus ending up eating more (and unhealthily);
- increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol to the point of compromising your entire immune system.
It goes without saying, of course, that these risks are not to be understood as certain and certain events. What you have to remember, in fact, is that each organism is an individual case, and if one person could really run these dangers, another could skip breakfast without any consequences whatsoever. The question is: why take the risk when you can avoid any risk by simply eating breakfast?
Conclusion
If you have read this far, you will have officially convinced yourself of the importance of breakfast: a meal you should never skip. The ideal, paradoxically, would be to eat a lot in the morning and gradually decrease the amount of food during the day, indulging in a light dinner before bed.
And if these are not your habits, we strongly suggest that you change them: perhaps at first it will seem strange to you to eat in the morning (especially if you are not used to doing so!), but gradually it will become part of your daily routine, so much so that at some point you will wonder how you managed to survive so long without doing it.
By doing so, the benefits of breakfast will be assured and your body will benefit all round. And if you want to add an extra note of energy to your first meal of the day, there is always your indispensable cup of coffee: a pleasure that will make your breakfast even tastier, especially if you prepare it with the right machine!