Fight Fat If You Eat This Every Day

[Kitchen Witch]

Fight Fat If You Eat This Every Day

Eat breakfast if you want to stay healthy and slim.

A new study from Harvard University suggests that people who eat breakfast daily may be less likely to succumb to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, reports Reuters. Why? Eating breakfast regularly helps control your appetite throughout the day, which means you're less likely to overeat later. In addition, a good breakfast helps regulate the body's blood sugar.

"Our results suggest that breakfast may really be the most important meal of the day," research leader Dr. Mark A. Pereira told BBC News Online. The study examined 2,681 adults between the ages of 25 and 37 for eight years.

People who reported eating breakfast every day--as opposed to twice a week or less--had a 35 to 50 percent reduced chance of becoming obese or developing insulin resistance syndrome, a precursor to diabetes in which the body experiences a loss of sensitivity to insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is key to regulating blood sugar.

What you eat is just as important as making sure you eat, notes Reuters. The best breakfast foods are whole grain cereals. Refined grain cereals and bacon and eggs had no effect on reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes.

Here's a trick from the American Heart Association to tell if a cereal is whole grain: The first item in the ingredient list must be a whole grain or bran and have at least 2 grams of fiber per serving.

One of the best whole grain cereals may be oatmeal. A study reported last year in The Journal of Family Practice concluded that oat cereals work so well at lowering blood pressure that people who are taking hypertension medication can actually use a lower dosage if they eat an oatmeal breakfast every day. Other studies have shown that oatmeal will lower cholesterol.

The study was presented at the American Heart Association's 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.