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Skipping Breakfast Destabilizes Blood Sugar

Skipping breakfast appears to make it more difficult for people with type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar after other meals.

People with type 2 diabetes have to be very thoughtful about what and when they eat. That’s because food has a profound impact on blood sugar levels.

A new study suggests that skipping breakfast could have a negative impact on blood glucose throughout the day.

How Skipping Breakfast Affects Blood Sugar:

The investigators recruited 12 men and 10 women for the research. The subjects fasted overnight and then were given either two or three meals the following day while blood glucose was monitored closely.

The meals were carefully designed to provide the same number of calories at lunch and dinner each day. That was how the scientists controlled for dietary changes that might occur whether or not the volunteers ate breakfast. When the participants fasted until noon, blood sugar rose 40 percent higher after lunch and 25 percent higher after supper.

The researchers do not know whether people who don’t have diabetes also regulate blood glucose less well if they skip breakfast. This may offer some explanation of the frequent finding in epidemiological studies that people who eat breakfast tend to lead longer, healthier lives (Preventive Medicine, Jan. 1993Public Health Nutrition, online Feb. 17, 2015International Journal of Obesity, June 1, 2015Public Health, June, 2015).

Diabetes Care, online July 28, 2015

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About the Author
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist who has dedicated his career to making drug information understandable to consumers. His best-selling book, The People’s Pharmacy, was published in 1976 and led to a syndicated newspaper column, syndicated public radio show and web site. In 2006, Long Island University awarded him an honorary doctorate as “one of the country's leading drug experts for the consumer.”.
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