Vida Wisham
Staff Writer
My parents, grandparents, teachers, relatives, and most of the other adults in my life would always talk about how you should make sure to eat breakfast every morning because it’s the most important meal of the day. When I was younger, I would wake up early in the mornings and eat breakfast with my family. Usually we’d cereal or bagels, and sometimes, on special occasions, we would have pancakes or crêpes. But somewhere along the way, my brother stopped eating breakfast with us when he went off to high school. Then a few years after that, when I went off to high school, I no longer had enough time to eat breakfast in the mornings.
I wondered why people said breakfast was the most important meal of the day. When I skipped this meal, I felt fine, leading me to believe that it was overrated. However, when I got to my freshman year of college, my stance changed overnight.
I’ve made it a habit to eat breakfast every morning, and it actually does make me feel more alert and energized for the day, especially before my three gnarly 8 a.m. classes. With breakfast, my mood almost instantly improves, and my brain feels less foggy.
When we were younger, there was a bigger emphasis on eating before you go to school, but now, as people grow older and have to take care of themselves, a lot of people don’t really think about all the benefits that eating breakfast can provide you.
According to the article “Breakfast,” eating a nutritious breakfast supplies the body with glucose for energy, as well as vitamins, iron, calcium, and fiber. Throughout the night, your body uses stored energy to repair itself. When you wake up, you need more energy for the day ahead of you. Eating breakfast can also improve the way your brain works as it helps your memory and concentration.
In addition, it actually has many health benefits. For example, according to the same article, those who skipped breakfast were found to be associated with a 27 percent increased risk of heart disease, and a 55 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Even though there are so many studies showing correlations between eating breakfast and improved energy, brainpower, and health (especially for children), not eating breakfast isn’t necessarily bad for those things either as most of the studies are observational, and you can’t get causation from observation alone.
However, if you are like me, a college freshman with not enough food swipes for breakfast in the morning, there are some solutions. It isn’t always necessary to have a big breakfast in order to still feel its positive effects. You can still reap the benefits with a piece of fruit, maybe some toast, yogurt and granola, or even a protein bar, which you can grab from the dining halls from the previous day. My personal favorite is some banana and peanut butter on toast. Overall, even if you have a busy morning, you should try to still take a few extra minutes to eat breakfast so that you can have a more energized and focused day.