What Happens When You Skip Breakfast? Part 1

I was an avid skipper of breakfast in high school, not because I wanted to but I would have to be there at 7:20am and my tummy was NEVER ready to eat at 6:45am. I bet there are a lot of people that can relate… Now that I reflect back on those times… I can clearly remember starving my entire morning and not giving my full focus to whatever I was learning, I was just waiting for lunch. I didn’t have lunch until 12:12pm, and until then I was just starving myself and I can see how it impacted my motivation to be in school and learn.

Fast forward 10 years… Ever since I became a responsible adult with a full time job I HAVE to eat breakfast, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Breakfast is the fuel that gets me going to have a productive day, to stay focused and it regulated my entire eating schedule to stay energized throughout the day. So what happens when we skip breakfast??? Let’s find out!

When we don’t eat breakfast we increase our chances of getting type 2 diabetes due to insulin resistance and hormone regulation. When we are hungry our body releases a hormone called ghrelin, this stimulates our appetites. When we are full, our body releases leptin, which is the satiety hormone and a huge component in weight loss. When we neglect the messages our body is telling us, something is bound to happen. In this case, not giving nourishment to our body with food when it needs it, is like not giving a car gas when it’s about to run out of fuel. Hormonal imbalances are a leading cause of so many other diseases such obesity, autoimmune diseases like type 1 & 2 diabetes, PMS, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are to name a few.

Insulin is a hormone our body uses to convert glucose (a sugar found in carbohydrates) into energy. When we don’t eat food our blood sugar levels drop and obviously we all know what happens when we don’t eat… we get mean! HAHA! Over time our pancreas keep releasing more and more insulin until we become insulin resistant which is when our cells don’t respond to insulin anymore, resulting in type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and high cholesterol levels AKA heart disease.

Another negative side effect of not eating breakfast is increased levels of the stress hormone, cortisol! It also increases acid reflux. When our body feels hungry it releases acid for digestion and if there is no food to digest it’s just going to sit in your gut causing further issues.

As seen with holistic medicine, when one part of the body is affected by disease, it could be linked due to the neglect of another part of the body. So pleaseeee eat breakfast!!! I know it can be hard, I’ve been there and as I made it an everyday routine to eat in the morning it became easier and easier to do. Even something small like fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, (watch out for excess sugar!), or eggs, will get rid of that brain fog, fatigue, lack of concentration and will replace it with lots of energy, motivation and good health!