With the variety of statements that move around this topic, this will not be the first time that you consider whether or not breakfast is necessary. And what’s more, you may have heard all of these before:

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”

“If you don’t eat breakfast, you won’t have energy”

“Those who skip breakfast tend to develop obesity”

These statements are heavily influenced by the food industry, which takes advantage of the fact that we consider this meal so important for our health.

Thanks to marketing, we associate certain ultra-processed products (sugary cereals, cookies, juices, etc), intended for breakfast, with those that are in fact necessary and healthy.

What does science say about breakfast? 📄

Skipping breakfast does not seem to have negative effects on cognitive performance, that is, eating breakfast or not eating it will not make you perform more or less in your work or academic activity (Fulford et al., 2015).

Also, breakfast does not appear to be related to body weight control. Not by skipping breakfast, you will gain or lose weight (Chowdhury et al., 2016), (McCrory et al., 2014)

So, should you have breakfast?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you or your kids usually have Nesquik, cookies, breakfast cereals or bread with Nutella? ➡ STOP IT! These ultra-processed foods are not only NOT healthy, but they also contribute negatively to your health (Monteiro et al, 2016)
• Do you usually have breakfast and do you like it? ➡ Perfect. Just make sure you are eating a healthy breakfast based on real food. 🍇🍊
• Aren’t you hungry in the morning? ➡ You do not have to eat breakfast. Just eat when you feel like it; your body will give you the signal.

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Summing up, if you have breakfast, choose nutritious foods.

Some examples are whole wheat bread with extra virgin olive oil, tomato and cheese (not keto); eggs (boiled, scrambled, omelette, etc), dried or fresh fruits (not keto), greek yogurt with raw cocoa powder and nuts…or why not? A handful of chickpeas (not keto).

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