A graduate of California Culinary Academy (CCA) in San Francisco, Cheryl has worked in top restaurants in France and San Francisco. She now has an urban farm in Napa, California.

“I don’t like cereal.”

“I’m allergic to eggs.”

“I’m not hungry when I wake up.”

“I don’t have time.”

There are plenty of reasons that people skip breakfast. But there are even more reasons why they shouldn’t.

Aside from increasing mental and physical performance, a breakfast of champions can help you to achieve and maintain optimal weight and energy levels. Furthermore, what you put in your mouth (or don’t) in the morning can also be indicative of your future health! Here’s how the first meal of the day can affect your lifelong health:

1. Energy. Who doesn’t want to have more energy? Whether you love working out, have an active lifestyle, or both, skipping breakfast can undermine your best efforts. Our bodies need fuel to power us through busy days and intense workouts. It all starts with breakfast. It’s no surprise that studies show that breakfast eaters have more endurance and strength than breakfast skippers.

2. Weight Control. Some people think that skipping meals, starting with breakfast, is a great way to lose weight. That’s simply not the case. Breakfast-skipping actually has the opposite effect. Holding off until noon for that first meal usually results in uber-hunger. This can lead to an out-of-control appetite when you do eat because you’re so famished. That can result in both eating too fast and consuming too many calories. It also contributes to distorted hunger signals (e.g., you can’t tell when you’re full). Believe it or not, smaller, more frequent meals can make weight control much more likely. And researchers now believe that eating breakfast may reduce hunger later in the day too. It may also be responsible for the tendency to choose less dense (lower-calorie) foods at later meals.

3. Brain power. A veggie omelette + whole grain toast = recipe for a productive morning? Yes, researchers believe that increased clarity and concentration are due in part to replenishing glucose, the brain’s main energy source. Sure, glucose is sugar, but it’s not quite that simple. It has something to do with a concept called the “glycemic index,” or GI. According to Dr. E. Leigh Gibson of Roehampton University in London, most studies suggest that quite a small amount—about 25 grams of carbohydrate (equivalent to a slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of sugar-free jam)—can improve performance, especially of memory. However, much more carbohydrate—especially if they’re high-GI foods (such as a cup of sugary cereal or a goopy cinnamon roll)—may actually impair memory. Her explanation for this is that “a high carb dose provokes a big increase in cortisol, which is a stress hormone. If one is doing a challenging task, an increase in cortisol is known to impair memory.” So the quality of your carbs is just as important as the quantity. Complex carbs such as whole grain breads or cereals play a key role in a healthy and balanced breakfast.

4. Blood sugar control. Regular meal timing, starting with breakfast, is important for even blood sugar and to balance the peaks and valleys of our blood sugar throughout the day. Not only does even blood sugar help prevent diabetes, it provides more energy and better long-term health (including decreased risk of heart disease).

A breakfast of champions can help you to achieve and maintain optimal weight and energy levels.

While blood sugar levels are highly regulated, with only minor fluctuations, our food choices (and timing) definitely have an impact on this balance. Sugary drinks or high-GI (glycemic index—see note below) meals can cause more of a spike in blood sugar levels. According to Dr. Gibson, “If you fast all day, your blood sugar would only show a slight decrease over the course of the day. This is because of action of counter-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, cortisol and adrenaline, which can influence blood glucose production, storage and uptake. So one way to think of hunger is as a neuro-hormonal signal to the brain that the body is having to work at maintaining blood glucose. At the same time, outside of the brain, most tissues start to receive an increased supply of free fatty acids, as stored fat is broken down, which, unlike the brain, they can use for energy.”

“If you fast all day, your blood sugar would only show a slight decrease over the course of the day. This is because of action of counter-regulatory hormones such as glucagon, cortisol and adrenaline, which can influence blood glucose production, storage and uptake. So one way to think of hunger is as a neuro-hormonal signal to the brain that the body is having to work at maintaining blood glucose. At the same time, outside of the brain, most tissues start to receive an increased supply of free fatty acids, as stored fat is broken down, which, unlike the brain, they can use for energy.”

This is an elegant and complex system whose mysteries are still being unraveled. What we do know for sure is that blood sugar control is a very good thing.

Breakfast: It’s Time to Make Time The Saturday Evening Post

In the study, six healthy but overweight men ate a dinner of coconut chicken, white rice, cheese bread, and a dessert biscuit. Then, after at least a week, they dined on chicken curry, Italian herb bread, and a cinnamon biscuit. Blood tests before and after the meals found the spicier meal reduced insulin and triglyceride levels—but not glucose. Researchers believe that phenol compounds in the spices accounted for the metabolic benefits.

Sheila West, PhD, of Penn State University, and colleagues reported their findings online in the Journal of Nutrition.

Nutrition News: Spice It Up for Health The Saturday Evening Post

The hemoglobin A1c level indicates a person’s average blood glucose over the prior three months. It is a better measure of glucose control than a finger stick test that measures glucose at one specific time. In general, taking metformin lowers one’s A1c level. A desirable A1c reading is less than 7 percent. An A1c of 9 percent indicates the average blood sugar level is 240 Side effects of metformin may include GI upset, headache, and weakness. Patients with kidney, liver, or heart problems may experience a rare but serious condition called lactic acidosis.

Controlling your blood sugar is important. I would not recommend stopping your medication without further conversation with your doctor.

Metformin and Glucose Levels The Saturday Evening Post

Metformin and Glucose Levels The Saturday Evening Post