If you eat just after 9 am, when the cortisol levels naturally begin to come down, then your blood sugar levels may not increase to the extent that it would when you are eating at a time when your blood sugar levels are already elevated in your body. That’s why we say do not eat your breakfast immediately after waking up, says Dr V Mohan, Chairman, Dr Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, Chennai.It is a given that we can reduce the risk of diabetes and control our blood sugar levels by not just changing what we eat but when and how (as in method of preparation) we have our meals. That’s why last week’s study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) seemed interesting. It said that eating breakfast after 9 am increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 59 per cent compared to people who eat breakfast before 8 am. This is the main conclusion of a study which followed more than 100,000 participants in a French cohort. Of course, I still feel that having a drop-down gate of 9 am is not too practical or logical unless it is borne out by other studies, particularly among the Indian population. Let me explain why.
What happens is the human body goes through a dawn phenomenon, where your blood glucose levels, after dipping through the night, reach their lowest level at 4 am. Then they start to rise even if you are sleeping or even if you have not had any food. Then the levels of cortisol, the hormone responsible for controlling the release of blood sugar and deciding how to use the fats, proteins and carbohydrates for your metabolism, start rising and are at their peak between 4 am and 9 am. Cortisol signals your liver to produce glucose so that you are fuelled up with enough energy to get through the day. If you have diabetes and insulin resistance, then your blood sugar level increases. I would have expected that if you eat after 9 am, when the cortisol levels naturally begin to come down, then your blood sugar levels may not increase to the extent that it would when you are eating at a time when your blood sugar levels are already elevated in your body. That’s why we say do not eat your breakfast immediately after waking up.Also what you eat at breakfast is important. Always add protein and a healthy fat in your breakfast platter and reduce the carbohydrates. Cut down carbohydrates further and replace that with fibre-rich fruits. Be sure of the balance of food groups so that there is no overloading of one over another. You cut down one to make way for the other. An omelette, made with eggs/egg whites/chickpea flour usually works in the Indian context as it automatically brings down your carbohydrate intake, has great satiety value, delays digestion and slows down blood sugar release. Such is the impact of a protein-fibre-healthy fat breakfast that you do not feel hungry pre-lunch. As your blood sugar levels come down after breakfast, your takeoff point is lower. So your post-lunch blood sugar levels also come down as part of a cascading effect. Therefore, never skip your breakfast.
You must be logged in to post a comment.