“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” You’ve heard it thousands and thousands of times, starting back when your Mom wanted to waste the best part of the morning on EATING. (Imagine that!) But now, when we’re older and supposedly wiser, it turns out that Mom was right…
… At least when it comes to reducing heart attacks in older men. I know – a niche market. But we’ve all got fathers and brothers and boyfriends. Some women my age still have husbands. (Imagine that!)
But the findings of a study published in the medical journal Circulation recently show that simply eating breakfast rather than skipping it – or, worse, just having a wake-me-up coffee – can reduce the risk of heart attack in men over age 45 by as much as 27 per cent! Previous studies across a number of medical sub-disciplines have already shown links between not eating breakfast and increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other heart related problems. However, this is the first publish study to link the habit directly to heart disease.
I know you’re all asking yourselves what the study had to say about pancakes, sausages and coffee versus fruit, yoghurt and herbal tea… But the people who designed the survey decided not to ask that kind of question, settling for a pure and natural cross section of the demographic they were looking at.
Some dietary experts maintain that, in general, people who eat breakfast have a healthier diet than those who don’t. I can see that. Health Canada (and other authorities) keep telling us we don’t get enough servings of grains and grain products every day. Think of what we eat for breakfast… Cereals, toast, pancakes and waffles – all grain based! And some folks – I know this from personal experience – eat the only fruit or fruit juice or other fruit-based items they’ll consume all day at breakfast!
So, breakfast gets my unqualified seal of approval!
We can all polish up our golden years (or prospects thereof) by having a good breakfast every morning. I do. You should, too!
~ Maggie J.