What Breakfast Means For Metabolic Syndrome
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To fast or to breakfast? An important health question, with a clear answer, that’s belied by such things as the title of this book: Why Doctors Skip Breakfast – by Dr. Gregory Charlop
The fact is: yes, intermittent fasting is good. No, skipping breakfast isn’t.
Now, of course, by some definitions, whenever we break a fast (which at some point we must, assuming we are to continue living), that meal is breakfast. But by “skipping breakfast” here what we mean is “not eating in the morning”.
So, why is it so important?
More reasons that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day
A recent systematic review with 118,385 participants found that people who regularly skip breakfast have a higher likelihood of developing metabolic syndrome and its key components—including elevated fasting glucose, abdominal adiposity, low HDL cholesterol, high triglycerides, and hypertension—all driven largely by insulin resistance. Which is bad.
In particular, the study associated skipping breakfast with:
- 26% higher risk of hyperglycemia (elevated fasting blood sugar levels, thus, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, as there were no participants with type 1 diabetes included in the first place, and adult development of type 1 diabetes is incredibly rare)
- 21% increased risk of hypertension (high blood pressure)
- 17% increased risk of excess visceral fat, listed in the paper under the category of abdominal obesity, but we’d like to underline the fact that it’s the least healthy kind of fat to have
- 13% increased risk of hyperlipidemia (high triglycerides)
The paper for this study can be found here: Association of Skipping Breakfast with Metabolic Syndrome and Its Components: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies
So, those are the consequences, but what’s the mechanism?
The study was associative, so didn’t cover this, but we at 10almonds have covered this previously:
Breakfasting For Health? ← in which we cover the science of intermittent fasting in the context of the circadian rhythm.
Short version is: your body cares what time of day it is, and will do metabolically better or worse depending on what you do at different times of day. Eating the largest meal of the day in the morning is best of all, but failing that, having at least some meal in the morning is better than none. If you want to do intermittent fasting, it is better to have an early dinner (and thus begin your fast early in the evening) than a late breakfast (to end your fast late).
See also: What Size Breakfast Is Best, By Science?
Not only that, but there are also other health-related reasons to enjoy a good breakfast, too:
Meal Timings vs Osteoporosis Fracture Risk
Want to learn more?
Check out:
Fasting, eating earlier in the day or eating fewer meals—what works best for weight loss?
Enjoy!
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Brussels Sprouts vs Cauliflower – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing Brussels sprouts to cauliflower, we picked the sprouts.
Why?
In this comparison of Brassica oleracea vs Brassica oleracea (same species, different cultivar), there’s a clear winner and it’s a simple one today:
In terms of macros, the sprouts have approximately 2x more fiber, carbs, and protein, making them the more nutrient-dense option in the macros category.
In the category of vitamins, the sprouts have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, C, E, and K, while cauliflower has more of vitamin B5 and choline; a clear win for sprouts.
When it comes to minerals, sprouts have more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while cauliflower is not higher in any mineral. A complete win for sprouts here.
Adding up the sections makes for an easy overall win for Brussels sprouts, but by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
What Do The Different Kinds Of Fiber Do? 30 Foods That Rank Highest
Enjoy!
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Tranquility by Tuesday?
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I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make The Most of Their Time
This is Laura Vanderkam, author of “Tranquility By Tuesday” (amongst other books). Her “thing” is spending more time on what’s important, and less on what isn’t. Sounds simple, but she’s made a career out of it, so condensed here for you are…
Laura’s 7 Keys To Productivity
Key One: Plan your weeks on Fridays
You don’t want your Monday morning to be a “James Bond intro” (where everything is already in action and you’re just along for the ride, trying to figure out what’s going on). So, take some time last thing each Friday, to plan ahead for the following week!
Key Two: Measure what matters
Whatever that means to you. Laura tracks her use of time in half-hour blocks, and likes keeping track of streaks. For her, that means running daily and keeping a log of it. She also keeps track of the books she reads. For someone else it could be music practice, or a Duolingo streak, or eating fruit each day.
On which note…
“Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen” is simpler than most nutrition trackers (where you must search for everything you eat, or scan barcodes for all ingredients).
Instead, it keeps track of whether you are having certain key health-giving foods often enough to maintain good health.
We might feature his method in a future edition of 10almonds, but for now, check the app out for yourself here:
Get Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen on iOS / Get Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen on Android
Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen @ Nutrition Facts
Key Three: Figure out 2–3 “anchor” events for the weekend
Otherwise, it can become a bit of a haze and on Monday you find yourself thinking “where did the weekend go?”. So, plan some stuff! It doesn’t have to be anything out-of-this-world, just something that you can look forward to in advance and remember afterwards. It could be a meal out with your family, or a session doing some gardening, or a romantic night in with your partner. Whatever makes your life “living” and not passing you by!
Key Four: Tackle the toughest work first
You’ve probably heard about “swallowing frogs”. If not, there are various versions, usually attributed to Mark Twain.
Here’s one:
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
Top Productivity App “ToDoist” has an option for this, by the way!
Laura’s key advice here is: get the hard stuff done now! Before you get distracted or tired and postpone it to tomorrow (and then lather rinse repeat, so it never gets done)
10almonds Tip:
“But what if something’s really important but not as pressing as some less important, but more urgent tasks?”
Simple!
Set a timer (we love the Pomodoro method, by the way) and do one burst of the important-but-not-urgent task first. Then you can get to the more urgent stuff.
Repeat each day until the important-but-not-urgent task is done!
The 10almonds Team
Key Five: Use bits of time well
If, like many of us, you’ve a neverending “to read” list, use the 5–10 minute breaks that get enforced upon us periodically through the day!
- Use those few minutes before a meeting/phonecall!
- Use the time you spend waiting for public transport or riding on it!
- Use the time you spent waiting for a family member to finish doing a thing!
All those 5–10 minute bits soon add up… You might as well spend that time reading something you know will add value to your life, rather than browsing social media, for example.
Key Six: Make very short daily to-do lists
By “short”, Laura considers this “under 10 items”. Do this as the last part of your working day, ready for tomorrow. Not at bedtime! Bedtime is for winding down, not winding up
Key Seven: Have a bedtime
Laura shoots for 10:30pm, but whatever works for you and your morning responsibilities. Your morning responsibilities aren’t tied to a specific time? Lucky you, but try to keep a bedtime anyway. Otherwise, your daily rhythm can end up sliding around the clock, especially if you work from home!
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Three Ways To Reduce Your Cancer Risk
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
From this week’s health news, we have:
Skip the meat, skip the cancer
Researchers (Dr. Fayth Butler et al.) followed the health of 79,468 participants (all initially free of cancer) for an average of just under 8 years (as with most longitudinal studies, the period of time will not be uniform as some people die or otherwise drop out of the study).
They found at baseline, that of those nearly 80,000 people, vegetarians were generally older, more educated, breastfed longer (where applicable), and had lower BMI than non-vegetarians.
As the study progressed, they found that all vegetarian diets combined were linked to reduced total cancer risk (12% lower) and reduced medium-frequency cancer risk (18% lower), and in particular, lower risk of lymphoproliferative cancers (25% lower) and stomach cancer (45% lower).
Breaking things down by non-omnivorous groups of interest:
- pescatarians: lower risk of colorectal cancer (21% lower) and breast cancer in older women than omnivores
- lacto-ovo-vegetarians: lower risk of lymphoproliferative cancers and stomach cancer than omnivores
- vegans: lowest risk of breast and prostate cancers
In short, all of the above are improvements on an omnivorous diet.
Read in full: Study finds vegetarians less likely to develop several common and rare cancers
Related: The Whys and Hows of Cutting Meats Out Of Your Diet
Another reason to avoid respiratory viruses
Common respiratory infections, including COVID and flu, can awaken dormant disseminated cancer cells in the lungs, and breast cancer survivors testing positive for COVID have higher all-cause, non-COVID, and cancer mortality.
In particular, in the study we’re referencing here, women with breast cancer who later had COVID showed a consistent trend toward increased lung metastasis risk (i.e. it spreads, which is what makes it most dangerous and most likely to be deadly).
The greatest risk is in the first 6 months after infection:
Read in full: Respiratory viruses awaken dormant breast cancer cells and raise relapse risk
Related: Why Some People Get Sick More (And How To Not Be One Of Them)
Almonds to the rescue
We love almonds, and so it seems do researchers (Dr. Samira Movahed et al.), who found that enjoying more than 60 g/day of almonds significantly reduced lipid damage and DNA damage markers, fighting aging and making cells less likely to turn cancerous.
Notably, raw almonds were found to be best for this, as roasting reduces polyphenols and blanching removes most of them. For that matter, the almond fiber (so, mostly in the skins that blanching would remove) also supports beneficial bacteria that help lower systemic oxidative stress, compounding the benefits.
There was also a small but significant decrease in uric acid levels (that’s a good thing to decrease), which the researchers hypothesize was due to reduced xanthine oxidase activity.
The benefits were dose-dependent, and enjoying under 60g per day showed smaller (or no) associations. 60g is just over 2 oz, by the way!
Read in full: Eating over 60g of almonds a day may protect DNA and cut oxidative damage
Related: What 47 Almonds Can Do For your Gut, Heart, Skin, & more
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Food and exercise can treat depression as well as a psychologist, our study found. And it’s cheaper
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Around 3.2 million Australians live with depression.
At the same time, few Australians meet recommended dietary or physical activity guidelines. What has one got to do with the other?
Our world-first trial, published this week, shows improving diet and doing more physical activity can be as effective as therapy with a psychologist for treating low-grade depression.
Previous studies (including our own) have found “lifestyle” therapies are effective for depression. But they have never been directly compared with psychological therapies – until now.
Amid a nation-wide shortage of mental health professionals, our research points to a potential solution. As we found lifestyle counselling was as effective as psychological therapy, our findings suggest dietitians and exercise physiologists may one day play a role in managing depression.
Alexander Raths/shutterstock What did our study measure?
During the prolonged COVID lockdowns, Victorians’ distress levels were high and widespread. Face-to-face mental health services were limited.
Our trial targeted people living in Victoria with elevated distress, meaning at least mild depression but not necessarily a diagnosed mental disorder. Typical symptoms included feeling down, hopeless, irritable or tearful.
We partnered with our local mental health service to recruit 182 adults and provided group-based sessions on Zoom. All participants took part in up to six sessions over eight weeks, facilitated by health professionals.
Half were randomly assigned to participate in a program co-facilitated by an accredited practising dietitian and an exercise physiologist. That group – called the lifestyle program – developed nutrition and movement goals:
Lifestyle therapy aims to improve diet. Jonathan Borba/Pexels - eating a wide variety of foods
- choosing high-fibre plant foods
- including high quality fats
- limiting discretionary foods, such as those high in saturated fats and added sugars
- doing enjoyable physical activity.
The second group took part in psychotherapy sessions convened by two psychologists. The psychotherapy program used cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), the gold standard for treating depression in groups and when delivered remotely.
In both groups, participants could continue existing treatments (such as taking antidepressant medication). We gave both groups workbooks and hampers. The lifestyle group received a food hamper, while the psychotherapy group received items such as a colouring book, stress ball and head massager.
Lifestyle therapies just as effective
We found similar results in each program.
At the trial’s beginning we gave each participant a score based on their self-reported mental health. We measured them again at the end of the program.
Over eight weeks, those scores showed symptoms of depression reduced for participants in the lifestyle program (42%) and the psychotherapy program (37%). That difference was not statistically or clinically meaningful so we could conclude both treatments were as good as each other.
There were some differences between groups. People in the lifestyle program improved their diet, while those in the psychotherapy program felt they had increased their social support – meaning how connected they felt to other people – compared to at the start of the treatment.
Participants in both programs increased their physical activity. While this was expected for those in the lifestyle program, it was less expected for those in the psychotherapy program. It may be because they knew they were enrolled in a research study about lifestyle and subconsciously changed their activity patterns, or it could be a positive by-product of doing psychotherapy.
People in both groups reported doing more physical activity. fongbeerredhot/Shutterstock There was also not much difference in cost. The lifestyle program was slightly cheaper to deliver: A$482 per participant, versus $503 for psychotherapy. That’s because hourly rates differ between dietitians and exercise physiologists, and psychologists.
What does this mean for mental health workforce shortages?
Demand for mental health services is increasing in Australia, while at the same time the workforce faces worsening nation-wide shortages.
Psychologists, who provide about half of all mental health services, can have long wait times. Our results suggest that, with the appropriate training and guidelines, allied health professionals who specialise in diet and exercise could help address this gap.
Lifestyle therapies can be combined with psychology sessions for multi-disciplinary care. But diet and exercise therapies could prove particularly effective for those on waitlists to see a psychologists, who may be receiving no other professional support while they wait.
Many dietitians and exercise physiologists already have advanced skills and expertise in motivating behaviour change. Most accredited practising dietitians are trained in managing eating disorders or gastrointestinal conditions, which commonly overlap with depression.
There is also a cost argument. It is overall cheaper to train a dietitian ($153,039) than a psychologist ($189,063) – and it takes less time.
Potential barriers
Australians with chronic conditions (such as diabetes) can access subsidised dietitian and exercise physiologist appointments under various Medicare treatment plans. Those with eating disorders can also access subsidised dietitian appointments. But mental health care plans for people with depression do not support subsidised sessions with dietitians or exercise physiologists, despite peak bodies urging them to do so.
Increased training, upskilling and Medicare subsidies would be needed to support dietitians and exercise physiologists to be involved in treating mental health issues.
Our training and clinical guidelines are intended to help clinicians practising lifestyle-based mental health care within their scope of practice (activities a health care provider can undertake).
Future directions
Our trial took place during COVID lockdowns and examined people with at least mild symptoms of depression who did not necessarily have a mental disorder. We are seeking to replicate these findings and are now running a study open to Australians with mental health conditions such as major depression or bipolar disorder.
If this article has raised issues for you, or if you’re concerned about someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Adrienne O’Neil, Professor, Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University and Sophie Mahoney, Associate Research Fellow, Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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5 Chair Exercises For Stronger Hips & Easier Walking
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Sitting doesn’t have to be all bad:
Are you sitting comfortably?
Then we’ll begin:
- Seated march: sit tall in a firm chair, and lift your knees (alternating one and then the other and repeat), keeping your core engaged and avoiding leaning backwards; if needed, begin by lifting only your heels—this will still activate the fronts of your hips.
- Benefits: strengthens the hip flexors and core, helping with walking, taking larger steps, and overall hip function.
- Seated side step: sit near the edge of the chair, and move one knee and foot out to the side while keeping them aligned, then return to the starting position without letting your foot travel outside your knee. You can also put a resistance band above your knees, keeping light tension on the band throughout the movement, and continue stepping one leg out and back in under control.
- Benefits: improves inner-thigh mobility and strengthens the muscles on the sides of your hips that support walking, balance, and stair climbing.
- Pillow squeeze: put a pillow or ball between your knees, sit tall with your knees aligned over your ankles, gently squeeze the thing (whatever you chose), and then relax without letting your legs drift apart.
- Benefits: activates and strengthens your inner-thigh muscles while helping reduce feelings of groin and inner-thigh tightness.
- Heel push-down: sit near the edge of the chair with your knees bent, and press one heel firmly into the floor, feeling your glutes and the backs of your thighs contract before relaxing. You can also press both heels into the floor at the same time to create a stronger glute contraction while remaining seated.
- Benefits: strengthens your glutes and posterior hip muscles that assist with walking, climbing stairs, and general hip support.
- Straight leg raise: sit near the edge of the chair, straighten one leg with your toes pointing upwards, tighten your thigh by pressing your knee down, then lift and lower your leg slowly. If you need to make it easier, you can do a controlled kick-out instead of a full leg raise, or slide your heel forwards along the floor for additional support.
- Benefits: strengthens the fronts of your hips, your thighs, and your core, improving support for the front of the hip joint.
For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Stand Up For Your Health (Or Don’t) ← our main feature on this also includes more things you can do if you must sit, to make sitting less bad!
Take care!
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- Seated march: sit tall in a firm chair, and lift your knees (alternating one and then the other and repeat), keeping your core engaged and avoiding leaning backwards; if needed, begin by lifting only your heels—this will still activate the fronts of your hips.
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Is It Possible To Lose Weight Quickly?
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In Victorian England, weight-loss trends like the dangerous tapeworm diet were popular. While modern fad diets can seem less extreme, they often promise similarly fast results. However, these quick fixes can have similarly harmful consequences:
Not so fast
To illustrate the difference between gradual and extreme dieting, the video bids us consider two identical twins, Sam and Felix:
- Sam adopts a gradual approach, slowly reducing calorie intake and exercising regularly. This causes his body to burn glycogen stores before transitioning to fat as an energy source. Regular exercise helps Sam maintain muscle mass, which boosts his metabolism and supports sustained weight loss.
- Felix drastically cuts calories, forcing his body into starvation mode. He quickly depletes glycogen stores, loses muscle mass, and burns fewer calories, making long-term weight loss more difficult. Although Felix might initially lose water weight, this is temporary and unsustainable.
You cannot “just lose it quickly now, and then worry about healthiness once the weight’s gone”, because you will lose health much more quickly than you will lose fat, and that will sabotage, rather than help, your fat loss journey.Healthy weight loss requires gradual, balanced changes in diet and exercise tailored to individual needs. Extreme diets, whether through calorie restriction or things like elimination of carbs or fats, are unsustainable and shock the body. It’s important to prioritize long-term health over societal pressures for quick weight loss and focus on developing a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.
In short, the quickest way to lose weight and keep it off (without dying), is to lose it slowly.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
How To Lose Weight (Healthily)
Take care!
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