CURTIS BOVEE
STAFF WRITER

In the United States, breakfast is often overlooked as a result of the hectic lifestyles that many of us have fallen into. Unfortunately, skipping breakfast has proven to be detrimental to one’s health.

Getting a healthy start in the morning by eating a nutritious breakfast will allow your body to reap major benefits.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight than those who skip breakfast regardless of if they eat more throughout the day. Furthermore, eating breakfast affects your satiety center, influencing how full you feel during the day, preventing impulsive snacking and binge eating.

Whether you are hungry or not in the morning, you should still eat something. Breakfast provides the energy you need to begin your day and can boost your mood, according to the NIH.

Additionally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eating a nutritional breakfast has been linked to positive short-term effects on cognitive functioning and alertness in college students. Knowing that eating breakfast can potentially cause you to excel in academics should be more than enough reason to start doing it.

While it is extremely important to your health to eat breakfast, what you’re eating is just as important. Eat foods that are more satiating during breakfast, including fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Eating these foods not only during breakfast but throughout the day will cause you to feel full longer, preventing unnecessary eating or snacking.

It is important to avoid eating foods with added sugars as these foods have no contribution to satiety and will ultimately cause you to eat more throughout the day. Instead of eating high sugar foods, try eating a breakfast with more fiber; you’ll eat the same amount of food, while eating less calories and being full for longer.

Take the extra 20 minutes in the morning to create a healthy breakfast pattern. Not only will you feel better, but you might also increase academic performance and energy throughout your day.