Breakfast Myth Exposed (new study says it’s bad for you!)

Here’s something shocking:

Each and every morning, you may be doing something dangerous for your health, without even realizing it.

It’s something you were likely told is good for you…

But may actually be making you heavier than you should be… sapping your energy… and even making you feel depressed.

I’m talking about the “breakfast myth.”

Since the 1960’s, doctors have said that eating breakfast helps you maintain a healthy weight.

The medical consensus has always been that an early meal “jumpstarts” your metabolism, allowing your body to burn calories more efficiently and stay leaner.

And for years, health experts everywhere warned us:

“Never skip breakfast!”

So unless you wanted to drag down your metabolism and pack on extra pounds, you followed their advice.

I certainly did.

In fact, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I try my best to make time for it every morning.

But here’s the shocking truth:

It turns out, all the advice about breakfast may be flat-out WRONG…

Especially when it comes to weight loss.

Here’s why:

In a massive new study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, among people trying to lose weight, those who eat breakfast do no better or worse than people who skip it.¹

And amazingly, a separate team of Canadian researchers just found the very same thing.

After studying more than 12,000 people, they wrote that breakfast was “not consistently associated with differences in body mass index or overweight prevalence.”²

In other words, having breakfast may not make the slightest bit of difference for maintaining a healthy weight!

So much for the “most important meal of the day,” right?

But… here’s a critical thing the scientists did find:

If you do eat breakfast, what you eat is much more important than when you eat.

You see, each and every day, millions of Americans eat things like cold cereal, donuts, or pancakes for breakfast…

All foods made from “highly-refined” carbohydrates like processed wheat, high fructose corn syrup, and starch.

And it turns out highly-refined carbohydrates may be very, very bad for your health.

Here are 3 reasons why you should avoid refined carbs at breakfast:

1. They Can Make You Gain Weight

According to Dr. David Ludwig of the Harvard School of Public Health, eating refined carbs can spike your body’s insulin, “programming” it to store calories as fat.

(The absolute last thing you want if you’re trying to shed pounds!)

2. They Sap Your Energy

Your body digests refined carbs extremely rapidly — and while this may give you a temporary “rush” of energy (like a sugar high), it can also make your body crash.

So refined carbohydrates can drag down your energy level… leaving you feeling tired and sluggish for hours.

3. They’re Linked to Depression

In a study of more than 70,000 women, scientists found a relationship between eating highly refined carbs and having risk for depression.³

The more carbs the women ate, the higher their blood sugar levels rose… and as their blood sugar rose, so did their chances of a having depressive bout.

This is really scary, because depression is a serious illness.

So here’s the bottom line: If you eat breakfast, do your body a favor and avoid foods with highly-refined carbs.

Now, here’s the good news…it IS possible to enjoy a delicious, daily breakfast…and still be doing the right thing for your health!

The key? Go for a meal that’s rich in protein.

A protein-heavy breakfast like eggs will make you feel full for longer, and you’ll eat less the remainder of the day.

(Not to mention, it’s delicious!).

Here’s my own special recipe for…

“Dr. Nelson’s Pumpkin Seed Eggs”

1. Lightly fry two eggs in olive oil

2. Top with a mix of fresh spring greens

3. Sprinkle baked, unsalted pumpkin seeds on top

And there you go!

It tastes great, and only takes about 15 minutes to make. It’s also jam-packed with protein to keep you feeling full. Not only that, the vitamin K in the spring greens is great for healthy bones.

And manganese, a mineral found in pumpkin seeds, has been shown in several studies to naturally help ease anxiety. I think it’s a great way to start your day…

Try it out, and let me know what you think!

For your health,

Dr. Cary Nelson, MD
Director of Science & Nutrition

P.S. If you don’t have time in the morning to cook, try a couple of hard boiled eggs and a slice or two of canadian bacon — you can make the eggs beforehand, and it’ll keep you full all the way to lunchtime.

And if there’s a protein-packed breakfast you like to make, leave a comment at the bottom of this article and tell me about it – I may give it a try myself!

Dr. Cary Nelson

Keep reading for more helpful health tips:

How Stress is Destroying Your Microbiome (+ 3 stress-busting tips)

Why Your Immune System Depends on Your Gut Health

Sources:
1. Chowdhury, E. A. et al. “The Causal Role Of Breakfast In Energy Balance And Health: A Randomized Controlled Trial In Obese Adults”. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 103.3 (2016): 747-756. Web.
2. Barr, Susan I., Loretta DiFrancesco, and Victor L. Fulgoni. “Association Of Breakfast Consumption With Body Mass Index And Prevalence Of Overweight/Obesity In A Nationally-Representative Survey Of Canadian Adults”. Nutrition Journal 15.1 (2015): n. pag. Web.
3. Gangwisch, J. E. et al. “High Glycemic Index Diet As A Risk Factor For Depression: Analyses From The Women’s Health Initiative”. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 102.2 (2015): 454-463. Web.