The Commonest Eating Disorder Every Morning

Do you have an eating disorder? Did you have your breakfast this morning?  In my opinion, missing the most important meal of the day is a common eating problem that is too often passed off as normal behavior.

Most people will only think of anorexia, binge eating, bulimia, and other conditions they consider to be related to, or "involving psychological, sociological and physiological components."

So why do I say that habitually neglecting to eat breakfast is an eating disorder?

You may not call this an eating disorder, especially if you have the habit of not eating breakfast yourself. But, just look at how it affects our health. Had medical science not shown the importance of having that first meal, it would not be stressed in schools by establishing "breakfast programs" to ensure needy students get a good start each day.

Eating a good breakfast every morning:

• -- boosts your energy,
• -- increases your attention span,
• -- helps you lose weight,
• -- improves your sense of well-being,
• -- gives you better control of your emotions, and
• -- is a great way to start your day.

What if you don't feel hungry in the morning?

This is one more reason I think missing you breakfast is an eating disorder. Just think of it. If you sleep at night, you would have fasted all through that period. That's why the first meal is called breakfast (I believe.) But this 'disorder' is usually a complex problem...

Most people may not feel hungry in the mornings if they ate too late the day before, or if they snack themselves to bed. The stomach worked all night. It is a greater chance they feel tired in the morning than feeling hungry.

We sleep so that all our organs can rest (not just our eyes). The brain is certainly not resting if the stomach is still processing food. What should have been repair and regeneration while we sleep turns out to be hard work while we slept, if we snack at night, or eat too late.

Skipping breakfast helps you lose weight? Not!!!

Effectively, not at all. Dieticians and other health workers are seeing the opposite of this belief. The body may be forced to convert fat to energy, but this habit increases the intensity of the hunger and often causes over-eating at the next meal, or snacking during the day.

If you are diabetic and you have high fasting blood sugar levels in the mornings, it is still NOT wise to skip breakfast.

Instead of skipping breakfast, exercise early in the morning before breakfast. This stimulates the body to use up the glucose in the blood and produce active insulin receptor cites on the cells. See the article on the causes of diabetes. Also, learn about the different forms of exercise and how exercise designed to strengthen your muscles can help you continue to burn glucose for hours after the exercise.

Part of a set of eating disorders

Even if you cite a reason such as "not having enough time" to eat breakfast, skipping breakfast is still an eating disorder. In fact it is just a part of the same lifestyle disorder that is causing so many health problems.

Whether you are diabetic or not, the same principle applies to all bad eating habits. However, diabetics cannot afford to not eat properly. [Excuse my double negative there!]

The habit of not eating breakfast may not be classified as an eating disorder by the medical profession. However, given all the ill effects of such habit, it is. So you do not want to miss this bit of advice...

Make eating a good breakfast a priority. It will improve you mental clarity and productivity. And avoid the junk food. Consider the anti-diabetes diet - fruits, whole grains, nuts, and vegetables.  You can never go wrong - and that's a great way to put your eating in order.

For information on eating disorders, check the National Eating Disorders Association website.

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