How Important is Breakfast Really?

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, a recent OPB special sparked my interest in Intermittent Fasting for health and I've been experimenting with it and learning more about it.  In the special, Michael Mosely ended up fasting 2x/week, and by fasting I mean eating only one meal a day, and derived and maintained some amazing health benefits.  I'm still in the trial phase myself and once I get a little further along with my journey, I'll report in about it - I promise.

My continued research brought me to some great articles by Dr. Mercola - hence the YouTube video presentation above.  Dr. Mercola has done a great job gathering recent research on Intermittent Fasting and putting it together in an easy to understand collection in the article linked to this presentation.

Intermittent Fasting - a great tool for overall health

Intermittent Fasting involves not eating on a regular or alternating basis for anywhere from 6-36 hours at a stretch.  Different types of intermittent fasting are better for different people and different lifestyles.  The Michael Mosely OPB special examined two different types of intermittent fasting - prolonged fasting for 3-4 days on a monthly basis and alternate day fasting where you eat one meal a day every other day, or 1-2x/week.  Dr. Mercola's site gives research based evidence for 4 different types of fasting as listed here:

Variations of Fasting
In his blog on marksdailyapple.com, Mark Sisson delves into four different variations of fasting, and how to implement them. The variations he includes are:

1. LeanGains (a fasting protocol by Martin Berkhan vii )—A daily 14-16 hour fast, during which time you consume nothing, with the exception of non-caloric fluids. Sleeping time is included in this time-frame, leaving an 8-10 hour window during the day when you're allowed to eat.
This protocol is designed with regular exercise in mind, with specific nutrient ratios for workout days and rest days, and is geared for those who want to shed excess fat and gain muscle mass. Hence, it's best suited for those who are actually exercising and lifting weights each week and can tolerate working out in a fasted state.


2. Eat Stop Eat (created by Brad Pilon viii)—In this protocol, you fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week. Your fast should be broken with a regular-sized meal (i.e. avoid gorging when coming off your fast), and you can maintain a regular exercise program without any special diet recommendations for workout days.
Fasting for 24 hours can be tough for some people, but I would agree with Mark's advice that eating a high-fat, low-carb diet can make 24-hour fasting easier, as a higher fat diet will tend to normalize your hunger hormones and provide improved satiety for longer periods of time.


3. The Warrior Diet (by Ori Hofmekler)—This is another protocol designed to improve your fitness by exercising in a fasted state. I've interviewed Ori and posted detailed articles on this in the past. His plan calls for 20 hours of fasting, and four hours of "feasting." You exercise during the day in a fasted state. Raw vegetables are allowed during your fast, but no protein, which is reserved for "feasting" or post-exercise recovery meals.
To learn more about the Warrior Diet, please see this previous interview with Ori.


4. Alternate Day Fasting—This fasting protocol is exactly as it sounds: one day off, one day on. When you include sleeping time, the fast can end up being as long as 32-36 hours.
As Mark notes, this may be the most difficult of all types of fasting, as it will require you to go to bed with an empty stomach a few times a week. It's definitely not for everyone.

The above information is quoted directly from Dr. Mercola's website HERE.

The simplest method I think most people could incorporate into their lives with ease is probably the LeanGains method which basically involves (on the eating side alone, not the exercise piece of course) skipping breakfast.  Stop eating at 8pm and don't eat again until noon or later and voila - you've participated in intermittent fasting.

Recent research on intermittent fasting is extremely compelling.  Take for example the study by Dr. Mark Mattson, Senior Investigator for the National Institute on Aging published in the International Journal of Obesity in 2011 which found that intermittent fasting was just as effective as regular caloric restriction for weight loss and slightly better than regular caloric restriction for reducing insulin resistance (i.e. reducing likelihood of developing Diabetes).

In summary, the participants in this study showed improvements in

• Normalizing insulin sensitivity, which is key for optimal health as insulin resistance (which is what you get when your insulin sensitivity plummets) is a primary contributing factor to nearly all chronic disease, from diabetes to heart disease and even cancer
• Normalizing ghrelin levels, also known as "the hunger hormone"
• Promoting human growth hormone (HGH) production, which plays an important part in health, fitness and slowing the aging process
• Lowering triglyceride levels
• Reducing inflammation and lessening free radical damage

All of these are pretty compelling reasons to skip breakfast, but skipping breakfast goes against all previous medical and nutritional guidelines.  I mean who hasn't heard that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" before?

Well, according to this research, that may not be the case.  In fact, skipping breakfast could be one of the simplest things you can do to improve your overall health and longevity.  Who knew?

Of course you don't have to skip breakfast to participate in intermittent fasting - as listed above there are many different ways to do it, and even the "skipping breakfast" LeanGains method essentially involves only eating for an 8 hour stretch, and it can be any 8 hour stretch including or not including breakfast.  

If you're curious about trying it I recommend you review the information on Dr. Mercola's site as well as Mark Sisson's website which probably has the most detailed information about how to actually go about it.  If you have Diabetes, Hypo or Hyperglycemia or are nursing or Pregnant, it may not be the time to investigate this type of lifestyle choice, but it never hurts to read up and learn more or consult a health professional if you are interested.

I'll be reporting in about my personal experiment in a few more weeks here, so stay tuned for more information on an Acupuncturists Journey into Intermittent Fasting for Health and Longevity coming soon!

Until next time,
~Rebecca