As humans, we eat because it is a necessity not because we are hungry and this is why you should not skip breakfast. Morgenmete was the name given to the first meal of the day by the English before the 15th century. Morgenmete simply means “morning meat”. It was later replaced with the word breakfast, the meal that breaks the long night stay without food. Today, we’ll learn why breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Breakfast is a good energy booster to start your day.
After supper, we go to bed with some amount of energy from that meal. This is stored by the liver and muscle in the form of glycogen. During periods of fasting, the liver breaks down stored glycogen (storage source of glucose) and releases it into your bloodstream as glucose, 90 minutes after dinner, to keep your blood sugar levels at baseline. This is particularly essential for your brain, which runs on glucose almost entirely. Glycogen is not long-lasting to keep blood sugar for more than 6-8 hrs.
You’ll agree with me that after 8 hours of night sleep, we’ll be running low on blood glucose and will need to be replenished at sunrise. Therefore, skipping breakfast after an unintentional overnight fast deprives your brain of requisite energy stores to function at their best during the early hours of work. This affects productivity. Don’t you feel sleepy on days you skipped breakfast? Many will agree with me that they feel energized in the morning on days they took breakfast. Try some breakfast today, and you will realize a difference in your energy levels in the morning. Employers can maximize productivity by encouraging their staff to take breakfast when they set up cafeterias within the workspace.
Your type of breakfast depends on your itinerary.
The question of which breakfast is the best has been a bone of contention for some time now. Some say “aunty muni special waakye is guy”, others banku, and others some beverage or something light. The truth is, there is no one best breakfast for everyone. What you do in the early hours of the day will dictate your breakfast type. A fieldwork engineer, mechanic, and a hawker will have a different breakfast from probably the Human resource (HR) manager of a company because the former group of occupations do a lot of physical activity from lifting to striking of objects to trekking which requires a good amount of energy from glucose which can’t be sufficed by the glycogen stores from a simple beverage. So rather it is recommended that you go for a much heavier banku and okro stew.
The case in most Ghanaian homes is that we rather eat light foods in the morning, maybe a choco drink and some bread with egg (“chibom”), which is low in energy as compared to the high energy fortified diet of banku and okro stew taken in the evening after returning from work and don’t need that energy amount. Rather, the reverse is much more appropriate for the engineer, hawker and mechanic. The HR on the other hand can take something light in the morning like cereal porridges and some bread.
Breakfast helps to check weight
A rightly-timed energy-rich breakfast reduces the demand for needless snacking which is often one of the reasons for weight gain. When we eat, the excess glucose converted to glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles. After these liver and muscles, storages are saturated and filled, the remainder is converted to fats to be stored under the skin to increase weight. The inability to use energy stores is a common cause of weight gain. Snacking stops the energy reserves from being used, most likely because you ate too light for breakfast and are hungry before lunch. Make a resolution today to eat your energy-rich fried rice and stew with fish in the morning to sustain you till lunch to check needless snacking.
Haven’t you realized that people say “I gain weight after fasting”? Another popular saying is “I eat two times a day but still gain weight” This is how not skipping breakfast helps to reduce weight. When you are fond of skipping breakfast, the body is thrown into a state for more storage in anticipation of the next starvation episode. We even do it in normal day life; we tend to instinctively save more when we are not sure of the next source of income than when we are living with plenty. This is how the body will be wired when you skip breakfast often; more storage than usage. So more weight gain.
I hear a reader whisper this “but when I skip breakfast, I should rather use up the stored glycogen and fat and I will reduce in weight”. I like the way you are thinking but that is not the case. That should be the case for occasional skipping of breakfast, not perpetual skips. This is because the body is aware you will skip breakfast so it needs to store enough to supply a good amount of energy during starvation. This is important in reducing the need for weight-loss pills, which can have negative side effects. Breakfast between the hours of 6 and 8 a.m. is the most beneficial.
Breakfast is the most important meal in the life of a diabetic.
The reason for the diabetic emergencies reporting to most accident and emergency department in Ghana is skipping of meals especially breakfast. This is because diabetics have low energy store rates to sustain blood sugar levels in starvation states. Skipping of meals is non-negotiable. Diabetics run the risk of hypoglycemia ( hypo meaning low; glyc- glucose; emia- in blood) all together meaning low glucose in the blood. This is not compatible with a diabetic life.
This is how crucial breakfast is. If you are not fasting, please eat. You probably reading this article on an empty stomach- you skipped breakfast and you are guiltily smiling, right? Please go and eat after reading the article.
Thanks for reading;
Bear in mind that, nothing is promised so you need to make the best of what you have. Have a nice day!!
MICHAEL BAAH BINEY
(@_papabiney on twiiter & Instagram)
mikebiney77@gmail.com
Final year Medical Student
University For Development Studies
Member of curious minds Ghana and activ8
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Michael Baah Biney is an advocate for healthy practices. His goal is to aid in the advocacy of preventing diseases before complications arise. In his bid to champion healthy living, Michael has volunteered with UNFPA, PPAG among others to share knowledge and mentor young people. He is currently a final year medical student of the University for Development Studies, Tamale and a member of Curious Minds Ghana.
