Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

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pisanmc
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Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by pisanmc »

Hello everybody:

I have been implementing a 16 hours fast for a year now and had pretty good result with it on my weight, blood lipids and skin health as well. I am usually fasting from 8:00pm through 11:00-12:00pm. It is really easy for me to implement and I do not know if other had the same experience, but this fast feel almost natural for my body (like it is what I am supposed to do).

However, after listening to Dr Valter Longo two main arguments against fasting in the morning I am not sure what to do. Fasting at night is pretty much impossible if I still want a family life.....
Dr Longo arguments are:
Fasting more that 12 hours increase risk of developing gallstone
Epidemiological studies shows that skipping breakfast increase rates of mortality in these population. Now regarding these studies (which I did found some on pub med), like all studies we should maybe look at over aspects of the life of people who are skipping breakfast that could influence their bad outcomes such as quality of food intake?
Plus, in case of APOE4 gene bearer, the positive effects of prolonged mild ketosis might overweight the risks?
Lots of questions, limited answers....

Thanks for your inputs!
Orangeblossom
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by Orangeblossom »

I have just read a book by Dr Longo and noticed he mentioned this too. But then, he does say about having two meals a day. I do this anyway, usually lunch and dinner. Skipping breakfast. Personally I feel fine with it and have read elsewhere that this can help especially if exercising in the morning as well, with fat burning. As you say - this is how i feel about it too

"Plus, in case of APOE4 gene bearer, the positive effects of prolonged mild ketosis might overweight the risks?"

I find if I eat first thing it can make me hungrier sometimes. Maybe there is a difference between doing it in a planned way with healthy foods, and say skipping it and eating a bagel later, maybe it is more about as you say lifestyle and food choices? Also i think the breakfast makers like this 'healthy breakfast' selling point! He did say about agreeing with a fasting window of 12 hours or less, (mine is usually 8-10 and like you I eat around 12 noon, and in the evening, with a snack mid afternoon)

"but this fast feel almost natural for my body (like it is what I am supposed to do)" That sounds good! I agree with going with how you feel.
rianlees
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by rianlees »

Hi Pisanmc,
Wow, you're committment to your health is impressive. I read an earlier post of yours and noted how much your markers have improved since implementing lifestyle change, welldone.
As you just stated; Lots of questions and limited answers. You have raised a good question about the studies and other potential influences besides skipping breakfast, you may also find there are an equal number of studies that support skipping breakfast.
I too am a breakfast 'skipper', have never really had an appetite for food before 10am and in my naturopathic practice I see alot of people who report the same.
Absolutely keep asking questions perhaps while reflecting on what has been working well for you? Your biomarkers look much improved, how do you feel in general and as you point out family life is important- the positive influence of social connection cannot be overstated in terms of wellbeing. Also, the fact that your eating style feels 'natural' to you, maybe that's a clue?
Given that so many people are 'skipping breakfast' perhaps we'll have more definitive answers to your questions before too long.
JimBG
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by JimBG »

Many have noted his comments on breakfast skipping both in his book and in some of his interviews. He is certainly someone whose views have significant weight based on his many years of experience and research. That said there are a number of others in the field of longevity research and medicine who have a different view and skip breakfasts. Two I know for sure are Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Jason Fung. Also if I recall correctly in watching Rhonda Patrick's interviews of Dr. Guido Kroemer and Dr. Eric Verdin (both very respected in their field) they too don't eat breakfast. So as is often the case there isn't a clear consensus and at present Longo may be the outlier. Other factors that come into play are how does one break the fast? What kind of diet does one follow? What are their underlying conditions? How often do they skip breakfast? All these factors can come into play in determining the impact of breakfast skipping. I don't think there is a study on this that looks at all these confounding factors. I personally have been skipping breakfast for about 6 months. I find I save a lot of time, I feel much more clearheaded and focused, and have lost about 15 pounds. Many of the folks on this board skip breakfast as well, which is in line with Bredesen's ReCODE program for ApoE4s with a recommended 14 to 16 hour daily fast.
Fiver
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by Fiver »

Limited answers indeed! It would be interesting to read up on research studies focusing on eating vs not eating breakfast, if there are any.

Meanwhile I'll admit to taking a decidedly unscientific approach about it. I just feel better. Maybe it's just the feeling of "doing something". Or supporting and being "in it" with family members. I also imagine how often prehistoric peoples would have eaten breakfast - probably around noon after waking up with the sun (8+ hours of sleep!), hunting something down (exercising) and cooking it. I guess that's a "paleo" argument....and I'm not always convinced about that myself. There are also the challenges of learning what to eat / not to eat and the relief of only having to figure that out for two meals a day. I can't help but think as I pack lunches "We're going to run out of avocados at this rate...."

I'm curious to see how it goes over the long haul.
circular
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by circular »

Tom wrote:I also imagine how often prehistoric peoples would have eaten breakfast - probably around noon after waking up with the sun (8+ hours of sleep!), hunting something down (exercising) and cooking it. I guess that's a "paleo" argument....
Don't forget about the gatherers and the leaves ;) May have been plenty of nuts and vegetables to munch on when first arising. I wonder if total time in ketosis and/or calorie restriction may trump whether someone skips breakfast and eats everything later (up to 3 hours before bed), or eats breakfast and starts fasting earlier.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
Fiver
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by Fiver »

oh yes, the leaf gatherers.....they get an early start obviously. ;)
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Brian4
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by Brian4 »

pisanmc wrote:Now regarding these studies (which I did found some on pub med), like all studies we should maybe look at over aspects of the life of people who are skipping breakfast that could influence their bad outcomes such as quality of food intake?
I looked into the studies on breakfast-skipping a while back and concluded that none of the studies is solid enough to draw any conclusions. There are too many confounding factors that can't easily be controlled for (the most obvious: breakfast-skippers often have higher levels of psychological stress).

It's not crazy to think that some protein in the morning helps cue the body that it's the beginning of the circadian cycle's day, but I wouldn't put it more strongly than that ("not crazy to...").

I think, until we have more data, the "what feels good" criterion is not a bad idea.

Brian
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rrao2015
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by rrao2015 »

It is all individual based.

For people who are prediabetic, skipping breakfast is not a good idea.

See how you personally feel not having a breakfast. Have a baseline value for all of your major metabolic parameters. Do the fasting/skipping breakfast for 3 months. Get tested again after 3 months. Compare the values. If the values are great (optimal) and you feel good, continue the same lifestyle.

I do a overnight fast of 12 hours, and follow it up in the morning with a 45 minutes gym/yoga/breathing exercise followed by the bathroom routines. By this time I would have completed a total of 14 hrs fast. The combination of overnight fast + exercise is sufficient to raise my ketone levels.

Do this daily and you will definitely see a lot of positive changes.
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slacker
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Re: Is skipping breakfast bad for you?

Post by slacker »

rrao2015 wrote:It is all individual based.

For people who are prediabetic, skipping breakfast is not a good idea.

See how you personally feel not having a breakfast. Have a baseline value for all of your major metabolic parameters. Do the fasting/skipping breakfast for 3 months. Get tested again after 3 months. Compare the values. If the values are great (optimal) and you feel good, continue the same lifestyle.

I do a overnight fast of 12 hours, and follow it up in the morning with a 45 minutes gym/yoga/breathing exercise followed by the bathroom routines. By this time I would have completed a total of 14 hrs fast. The combination of overnight fast + exercise is sufficient to raise my ketone levels.

Do this daily and you will definitely see a lot of positive changes.
Lovely as always to get your input Dr Rao.
Other than the overnight fast and exercise/bathroom routines prior to eating in the morning, do you do anything else to raise your ketones? Are you on a high fat low carb diet, or more traditional Indian? Or?
Slacker
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