Do you have a sweet tooth in the morning? Do you crave that
bowl of high-sugar cereal or a donut with your coffee? We
all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the
day, and getting something for breakfast is likely better
than getting nothing at all. However, a new study from a
group in Australia tells us that if you must eat those
sweet, high carbohydrate foods, you would do much better
putting them off until lunch and grabbing some more protein
in the morning.
A g'zillion different studies show us why it is so
important to eat a morning meal. Breakfast eaters have an
easier time controlling their weight, better energy
throughout the day and higher performance on the job or at
school. We also know that foods with a lower glycemic index
(meaning they are less likely to spike your blood sugar
because they have less simple carbohydrates) are better
than high glycemic breakfasts for all this stuff.
A new study took this logic a step further and asked what
would happen to your blood sugar if you spread out all your
carbohydrates evenly throughout the day, or, conversely,
loaded most of them up at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Researchers expected that the peak in blood sugar would be
highest right after eating the high carbohydrate meal. In a
sense, they were right, but with one big surprise.
A high carbohydrate breakfast meal caused a much bigger
spike in blood sugar than a similar meal at lunch or
dinner. It appears that our bodies can tolerate a dose of
carbs much better in the afternoon or the evening, than we
can in the morning. This study utilized type II diabetics
to provide and exaggerated normal blood-sugar response, but
presumably, this applies to everyone.
Why is this important and what does it have to do with the
brain? Your body needs to control its blood sugar (glucose)
in a tight window in order for all your systems to operate
at their best. Importantly, your brain uses glucose
exclusively as an energy source, whereas the rest of your
body can tap into energy from fats and proteins. So giving
your brain a steady supply of glucose is important for
optimal brain function.
If you are constantly eating a big chunk of your daily
carbs at breakfast (by scarfing down the donuts, pancakes,
French toast or high sugar cereals), then you are probably
spiking your blood sugar fairly high in the morning on a
regular basis.
This has a couple of problems. First, in the short run,
spiking your blood sugar causes your body to respond by
releasing insulin to crash it back down. This will cause a
drop in energy levels during the mid-morning hours, which
is a time when many folks need to be on their toes at work,
and kids need to be attentive in school. Second, in the
long run, constantly spiking your blood sugar can
eventually lead to insulin resistance and type II diabetes,
which increases your odds for heart disease and cognitive
problems as well.
Obviously it's best to get rid of the high sugar foods from
your diet completely, but let's be reasonable. Most people,
me included, enjoy a fresh-baked cinnamon roll every now
and then and we aren't willing to deprive ourselves of all
of life's pleasures.
So here's the solution - just don't eat this stuff for
breakfast. It's the worst possible time of day for these
kinds of foods. Unfortunately, these are the common
breakfast foods that we feed our kids on a regular basis
and find littering the morning menu of our favorite
restaurants.
Still, try to switch to higher protein meals in the
morning, like eggs or a quick breakfast shake and you will
likely notice an increase in energy throughout the morning
and the rest of the day. If you just can't go cold-turkey
on the morning office donuts, grab one to stick in your
desk and eat it with lunch instead (just keep it to a
minimum).
Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2008)
87:638-44
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