Don't die full

Last week I read an article that inspired what I’m sharing today.  The article’s title was: “Is skipping breakfast bad for us?  New study finds links with heart disease and obesity.”

The skinny of this article was summarized in its opening paragraph:

“Skipping breakfast or eating late in the day could raise the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity according to a new study. The study from a group of American researchers suggests that the time we eat our meal is equally as important as what we eat.”

This middle-aged man, who has an above-average interest in stuff like this, decided to go directly to the source where the research was published, a journal of the American Heart Association named Circulation.

An abstract of this research appeared on the Circulation website is as follows:

“Eating patterns are increasingly varied. Typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals are difficult to distinguish because skipping meals and snacking have become more prevalent. Such eating styles can have various effects on cardiometabolic health markers, namely obesity, lipid profile, insulin resistance, and blood pressure. In this statement, we review the cardiometabolic health effects of specific eating patterns: skipping breakfast, intermittent fasting, meal frequency (number of daily eating occasions), and timing of eating occasions. Furthermore, we propose definitions for meals, snacks, and eating occasions for use in research. Finally, data suggest that irregular eating patterns appear less favorable for achieving a healthy cardiometabolic profile. Intentional eating with mindful attention to the timing and frequency of eating occasions could lead to healthier lifestyle and cardiometabolic risk factor management.”

Over his gracefully-aging middle-aged man journey, this middle-aged man has tried it all in the nutrition department.  He’s done the low-fat thing, low-carb thing, intermittent fasting thing, and “nutrition confusion” thing by mixing up what he eats for breakfast lunch and dinner.  An example of the latter is eating a hamburger for breakfast or bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast for dinner.

What I think it really all boils down to is something so simple, just eat less so that, when our day comes to meet our grim reaper, we don’t die full.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum