There is said to be no current consensus on how many meals someone should eat if they want to promote optimal wellness.
There are some individuals who will consume many small meals a day and others who aim for fewer, larger meals instead. But it could be argued that constant, compulsive eating hasn't been seen to be correlated with good health.
While some people might say that the frequency of your eating really can determine optimal wellness, others argue that it's more important as to what you are eating during those times.
Recently, there has been growing interest for intermittent fasting and various biohacking efforts, where people are striving to promote longevity and wellness. But is eating less a good thing? We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but now, more people are looking to skip meals so that they can attempt to reap the benefits of fasting.
However, new research warns about the dangers of skipping breakfast, suggesting that it might increase your chances of heart disease.
In the recent study, researchers surveyed over 6,000 adults, between the ages of 40 and 75. They controlled for things like socioeconomic status and body mass index, and used a survey over many years to ask participants if they ever skipped breakfast, then compared the answers to death records.
They discovered that more than 5 percent of the participants claimed they never ate breakfast and researchers concluded that skipping the first meal of the day was associated with an increased risk of mortalityfrom cardiovascular disease.
For those who have been seeing the benefits firsthand however, of drastically reducing their consumption and engaging in intermittent or interval fasting, they're unlikely to be persuaded by this one encouragement to go back to not skipping breakfast. I don't know about you, but I don't feel my best when I have been eating food all day in fact, it's quite the contrary. Everyone is different though, and you need to do what works for you personally; despite what any consensus might demand.
Previous research has indicated that intermittent fasting can improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control, and that it can also potentially help to lower blood pressure.
I find it interesting that this study highlighting the important of breakfast, has come out now trying to reaffirm the importance of eating breakfast, when we've seen such a dramatic rise in interest for intermittent fasting these days. Maybe we can just add it to the others that suggest coconut oil is bad for you and that eating healthy should be regarded as a mental illness.
