Phil Brown Nutrition

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When we’re growing up we get a lot of wisdom handed down from our parents. We soon realise gems such as “If the wind changes your face will stick like that” aren’t based on an awful lot of facts. Why then do so many people still believe we must eat breakfast? It possibly stems from a quote in a 1917 issue of Good Health magazine that states “In many ways, the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because it is the meal that gets the day started,” interestingly the magazine was edited by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yes that Kellogg). Thankfully a mere century later, a new study is questioning that ‘wisdom’. The snappily titled “A randomized controlled trial to study the effects of breakfast on energy intake, physical activity and body fat in women who are nonhabitual breakfast eaters”* The participants were randomly allocated to the breakfast group or non-breakfast group. Breakfast eaters were required to eat within 1.5hr of awakening and had to be finished eating their breakfast meal by 8:30 A.M. Non-breakfast eaters were not allowed to consume a snack or meal (except for water), until after 11:30 A.M. At the end of the month, the results were as follows: • The breakfast eaters saw an average weight gain of 0.6kg. The no breakfast group remained stable • The breakfast group gained an average of 0.5kg of total fat mass. There were no changes in the non-breakfast participants • Participants in the breakfast group consumed on average 266 more calories. The no breakfast group didn’t statistically change. • There were no differences between the groups in the amount of physical activity, nor was there an increase in the breakfast eater’s activity levels over the duration of the study. What does that mean for you? This is just one study and the subject needs more research. But if you currently don’t eat breakfast don’t feel obligated to do so. If you are currently eating a healthy balanced breakfast & enjoy it, carry on. For a more detailed breakdown of the study visit my blog. https://philbrownnutrition.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/breakfast-is-not-the-most-important-meal-of-the-day-probably/

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