3 good reasons to eat breakfast if you have diabetes

Breakfast is a crucial meal that you shouldn't do without, especially if you have diabetes or blood-sugar issues. Here are three reasons why a good breakfast is the best way to kick-start an active and productive day.

When you wake up after a long night's rest, your body has gone as much as 12 hours without a meal. That means one thing; you need fuel. More precisely, it means there's probably a shortage of glucose in your bloodstream, which is the main fuel source for your brain.

• If you don't eat breakfast and rush out the door with low blood sugar, one organ in particular won't be operating at full speed: your brain. It requires a steady flow of blood sugar to run effectively.
• Studies of schoolchildren have shown repeatedly that kids who eat breakfast have better memories and learn more than their classmates who don't.

The effects of low blood-sugar levels on the rest of your body are usually quite noticeable. At minimum, low blood sugar levels will make you feel queasy and lacking energy. The other symptoms of low blood sugar listed by Diabetes Canada include:

• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Inability to concentrate
• Hunger
• Drowsiness

Blowing off breakfast is a setup for pigging out later on. It'll also cause a roller-coaster for your blood-sugar levels.

• Most people overcompensate for the calories they miss at breakfast by overeating at lunch and supper – especially foods high in saturated fat, the kind that plugs arteries.

Breakfast skippers are also more likely to snack on junk food between meals.

• One recent study found that women who usually nixed breakfast were able to lose 1.8 kilograms (four pounds) simply by adding a nutritious meal in the morning.

Eat breakfast regularly and you'll not only be on the path to losing weight, but your blood sugar should shape up, too.

More than three quarters of people who lose weight and keep it off eat breakfast. Sitting down for the morning meal may also make you up to 50 per cent less likely to develop insulin resistance, a problem that could potentially lead to type 2 diabetes.

• According to Diabetes Canada, type 2 diabetes is a disease in which your pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or your body does not properly use the insulin it makes.

Don't think of breakfast as a huge plate of bacon, eggs, potatoes and toast. Breakfast is often best when it's small and simple: one serving of fruit, one serving of whole grain and one serving of protein (the milk on your cereal will do, as will an egg).

It's that easy. And the results can be remarkable.