We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It’s essential to start your day off on the right foot!
Research has shown that skipping breakfast can be bad for your heart. Researchers advise starting the day with whole fruit, protein and whole grains. Eating healthy things at the beginning of the day sets your mind and body up for success.
Meal timing has been a big concern for recent research. One study found that people who ate dinner late had peak blood sugar levels nearly 20 percent higher than early-eaters. Meal timing can impact your body and blood sugar immensely.
A new study has found that a later breakfast may be best for blood sugar. A six-week-long randomized study looked at the impact of breakfast time and a 20-minute walk on post-meal blood spikes in people with blood sugar concerns. People had their first meal at 7, 9:30 or noon. People who ate at 9:30 or noon had lower post-meal blood sugar than those who ate at 7. A 20-minute walk after breakfast lowered the blood sugar of people who ate at 7 or noon but not at 9:30.
The study was small. Initially, it had 14 participants. Only 11 people stuck to the requirements of the study. So, only their results could be used for the final analysis.
The researchers said that it’s possible walking after meals needs a longer time frame to show results. Their study was only six weeks.
The researchers wrote, “When this practice is adhered to over the long-term, it is likely to result in better glucose management, reducing risks associated with poor glycemic control, such as insulin resistance and increased cardiometabolic risks.”
The researchers would like to explore their work more with a larger population for their next study over a longer period. That was they can see how feasible it is for people to stick to the breakfast time and if exercising makes a difference.
It could be that eating breakfast later and dinner earlier is best for blood sugar because the combination makes a life where a person is essentially intermittent fasting. Other studies have found intermittent fasting can help blood sugar, even without weight loss. If a person eats breakfast late, they simply don’t have as large a window in the day to eat.
The results from this study showed that “Records revealed that altering breakfast timings did not significantly change participants’ total daily energy intake or eating frequency.”
Eating breakfast later didn’t change how much or how often people ate. But it did change how their bodies reacted to that food.
A larger study is needed to confirm this research. However, while we wait for further news, you might want to shift your breakfast later to see how it might impact your blood sugar. Altering our daily habits in small ways can significantly affect our overall health. Taking small steps adds up to big changes.
