Over 80% of illnesses are caused by our own behaviors. Most everyone knows there is an association between heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension with high lipids (fats in the blood). Equally understandable is the concept that we are what we eat.

Men who skipped breakfast had a 27% increased risk of heart attack, were more likely to smoke, drank more alcohol, and were less physically active. Epidemiology is predictive of future disease.

 

Interestingly, we spend more money on drug research than on food research and education even though studies show that food can dramatically affect health. In clinical practice, recommending food is poorly compensated, labor-intensive, and requires skills not usually found in traditional medical offices or taught in medical schools.

 

Lifestyle-related chronic illnesses are much more disabling and costly than the 20% of illnesses associated with our genetic makeup or the 10% due to lack of access to care. Medical care is still focused on treating disease, not preventing illness. Most medical education and training are still using a model developed in the 1920s before preventative medicine, which we now know is so effective.

 

Fad diets, media hype, and most importantly lobbying by the food industry for high-calorie, salty, and fatty foods that encourage larger portions and overeating are perpetuating an obese America. Obesity is the most common reason four of five recruits to the U.S. military are rejected.

 

Some simple habits have been scientifically proven to decrease heart disease. Moms and researchers agree breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast eaters are far less likely to have diabetes, heart disease, or obesity. Ten years of dietary habits of 2,900 Americans between ages 18 and 30 are the basis of this conclusion.

 

Trying to lose weight by not eating breakfast is not a good option. Breakfast eaters end up eating fewer calories and less fat overall, resulting in better nutritional status than those who skip breakfast.

 

You might ask, “What is the best recommendation for breakfast?” The American Heart Association’s annual conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention recommends a bowl of whole-grain cereal. These cereals are a particularly good quality source of soluble fiber that forms a gel-like material that prevents cholesterol absorption. Beans also have this positive benefit, so having a bowl of minestrone at lunch is also recommended.

 

Steel-cut oatmeal topped with fruit and walnuts, yogurt topped with blueberries and sunflower seeds, whole-grain English muffin with peanut butter, or a smoothie made with milk, yogurt, fruit, bran, and wheat germ are also recommended as healthy breakfast foods.

 

An associated benefit of added insoluble fiber is the regulation of healthy bowel habits, reducing the risk of colon problems. Whole grain cereals are also typically fortified with vitamins C and E, various B vitamins, and folate.

 

The moral of the story: Listen to your mom and eat a healthy breakfast to live a longer, happier, and healthier life.