Breakfast Of Champions Is Not Cereal Or Canned Juice

As the name goes, ‘breakfast’, is the meal that breaks the overnight fasting period. It is suggested that breakfast should be king-sized and the healthiest of all the other meals. This is to replenish the glucose levels that decline during sleep. A person is unconscious in sleep, but his body is healing, replacing dead cells, and performing all necessary functions that need glucose. Therefore, breakfast becomes essential to restore glucose levels and prepare the body for the day regarding energy and alertness. Often, it is suggested that we must have breakfast within 2 hours of waking up. But does our body actually need breakfast this early? Before answering this question, let’s learn a little about glucose storage and release.

This Story also Contains

1. Liver: Function In Glucose Circulation
2. Glucose Levels And Breakfast
3. No Need For Breakfast In The Morning
4. What Does An Early Breakfast Do To Our Body?
5. What To Include In Your Breakfast?

Liver: Function In Glucose Circulation

Glucose is the energy unit that goes through multiple cycles and pathways to produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate) or energy. If excess glucose is found in the body, then hormones are released to restore glucose homeostasis. Insulin and glucagon are the key hormones for releasing and storing glucose in the liver. As glucose levels rise, insulin is released to break down the glucose so that the cells can pick it up, and whenever the sugar levels are in excess, it is stored in the liver as glycogen.

This stored glucose, or glycogen, is released into the bloodstream in a usable form by the triggering of glucagon. This process is called glycogenolysis. The hormone is secreted when the body senses low glucose levels, and it works to restore glucose homeostasis.

Glucose Levels And Breakfast

Since blood levels are supposedly exhausted by the morning, people consume a high-carbohydrate breakfast to maintain their energy level and blood sugar throughout the day. But this glucose spike within an hour of waking can damage different cells of the body, especially the mitochondria. Instead, a high-fat breakfast can be better than one high in carbs. But coming back to our question, do we really need breakfast early?

The answer is no!

Yes, the myth around having breakfast within one hour of rising up or having a king-sized carb breakfast can do more harm than good to the body. A detailed explanation is provided in the next section

No Need For Breakfast In The Morning

Yes, our body knows to take care of itself to some extent. Homeostasis of various phenomena by the secretion of different hormones is an example. Similarly, glucose homeostasis occurs in the morning after we wake up.

Lower glucose levels initiate the functioning of the hormone glucagon, which results in the release of glucose from the liver. Stored glycogen breaks down, releasing glucose into the bloodstream. This supply is a natural process that occurs as a body’s response, and enough sugar flows in the blood to sustain the individual’s activities.

Another response that occurs in the body is a hike in cortisol levels just before rising up. This hormone is a fight-or-flight response hormone that inhibits the production and action of insulin to prevent glucose breakdown. The hormone also ensures that enough glucose is present for the body’s functions.

So, glucose homeostasis and cortisol are ensuring that glucose levels are optimal in the morning. Feeding a heavy breakfast soon after waking up will cause sugar levels to rise, thus damaging different cells and causing various other problems. To be on the safe side, diabetic patients should strictly adhere to a fat and fibre diet rather than any carbohydrate diet.

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What Does An Early Breakfast Do To Our Body?

Breakfast options like oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, fruits, juices, and many similar food items are consumed at breakfast to dump sugar into the bloodstream and increase energy levels. However, people aren’t aware that these food items increase insulin production, which works to pull sugar out of the bloodstream. This leads to lower energy levels, making the person tired throughout the day. Also, insulin will pull sugar out, enhancing fat production and storage. So, these food items can be avoided so that liver-provided sugar is used first and then more is introduced from the outside into the blood.

Due to this very reason, a person should consider having breakfast a few hours after waking up, ideally around noon. A big breakfast can be taken after a few hours as the glucose levels will be accustomed to the body’s needs.

What To Include In Your Breakfast?

Complex and heavy carbs are considered to be taken for breakfast to restore stable glucose levels. However, high-fat, protein-rich, and fibre-rich foods will be better breakfast options, like fruits and vegetables, eggs, bacon, and more. Vegetarians can consider having vegetable juice without sugar, whole grains, etc. These foods will not spike the insulin levels much, and thus, glucose will not be cleared from the bloodstream completely.

The glucose and insulin levels have to be maintained right from the morning, as they drive the body's energy levels for the day. Therefore, a person should consider having breakfast after researching enough about his body, as not every breakfast will suit everyone.

To conclude the hot topic about a big breakfast in the morning? Consider having it later in the morning, preferably around noon. The concept is backed by a physiological approach. Just prior to waking up your liver gets squeezed by two hormones, cortisol and glucagon, to dump sugar into the bloodstream. So that when you wake up you have all the energy you need to start your day. Avoid packing up sugary meals for breakfast into your bloodstream when your body already has taken care of what you need.

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