Skipping Breakfast Could Increase Heart Attack Risk, But Avoid the Bacon Says Researchers
People who skip breakfast may be more likely to suffer from a heart attack according to a new study.
Don't jump up and grab a second piece of bacon yet. While new research has revealed that those who partook in breakfast were more likely to suffer from heart attacks, it may also be the case that people who ate breakfast were more likely to have a healthier diet.
Over a 16-year study of 27,000 men, 7 percent of men who skipped breakfast suffered from a heart the Circulation journal revealed on Monday. Of those men who consumed breakfast, only 6 percent suffered from a heart attack. Overall, the increased risk of heart attack for those not eating breakfast was 27 percent. While the study was conducted strictly on men, the impact would likely be the same on women Harvard researchers noted according to the Associated Press.
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But what the breakfast meal contains could also have an impact on health meaning that sausage, bacon, and a stack of pancakes will not necessarily translate to reduced heart attack risk.
"We don't know whether it's the timing or content of breakfast that's important. It's probably both," Andrew Odegaard, a University of Minnesota researcher who has studied a link between skipping breakfast and health problems like obesity and high blood pressure, told the AP. "Generally, people who eat breakfast tend to eat a healthier diet."
Skipping breakfast could be bad because it may encourage people to eat additional calories later on in the day while taking in more calories per meal.
"Prolonged fasting leads to increases in diastolic and systolic blood pressure, blood concentrations of insulin, triglycerides, free fatty acids and LDL-cholesterol, and to decreases in blood concentrations of HDL-cholesterol," study author Leah Cahill told Forbes.
In the ideal case, three meals a day with at least two snacks in between will prevent spikes in blood sugar and reduce unhealthy cravings.
