March 14, 2003 – People who eat a balanced breakfast daily are said to be up to 55% less likely to develop obesity problems.
This finding goes against the popular belief that skipping a meal will help you lose weight. On the contrary, say researchers at Northwestern University: People who eat in the morning consume fewer calories and saturated fat during the day, and eat generally more balanced diets.
Breakfast is also said to help fight insulin resistance syndrome, a warning sign of diabetes.
These findings stem from a 10-year study of the eating habits of 2,900 Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 living in four different cities.
While any breakfast is better than eating nothing at all, some foods, such as whole grain cereals1, would have an even more marked impact on health.
Eat veggie
Similarly, people with high cholesterol could lower their cholesterol levels by a third if they adopted a radical vegetarian diet.2.
Canadian researchers recruited 25 participants who agreed to adopt a specific diet. Their daily menu included, for example, fruits, bran, vegetarian chili, tomatoes, beans, barley, okra, eggplant, onions, red peppers, cauliflower. and soy in different forms. Various studies had attributed to these foods anti-cholesterol properties.
Participants saw their “bad” cholesterol levels drop by a third, the same improvement as people who pay attention to their diet and take medication to lower their cholesterol.
Eat a lot
Finally, a study in the journal Urology found a link between high calorie consumption and prostate cancer. According to this study, men who consume a lot of calories (about 2,600 per day) quadruple their chances of developing prostate cancer. The association has been shown to be as much for men of normal weight as for those suffering from overweight.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to WebMD Health, Yahoo! Health and CBS News, March 6, 2003.
1. Pereira MA, Jacobs DR Jr, Pins JJ, Raatz SK, Gross MD, Slavin JL, Seaquist ER. Effect of whole grains on insulin sensitivity in overweight hyperinsulinemic adults.Am J Clin Nutr 2002 May; 75 (5): 848-55. [Consulté le 14 mars 2003].
2. McCarty MF. Vegan proteins may reduce risk of cancer, obesity, and cardiovascular disease by promoting increased glucagon activity.Med Hypotheses 1999 Dec; 53 (6): 459-85. [Consulté le 14 mars 2003].
