To eat, or not to eat your breakfast.  Is that your question?

I cannot tell you how many times I meet with clients who talk about this.  “Cindy, I know what you are going to say, but I often skip breakfast.  I know that is SO BAD, but I’m not hungry in the morning.”

I think they are shocked to hear me say that is okay.

Guess what?  You are not overweight or unhealthy because you don’t eat a meal between 6 and 9am.  That being said, breakfast is my favorite meal, so I find you a little bit odd.  Nonetheless, you are not in any danger if you skip a meal.

Now, if you are lethargic, distracted, or if your stomach is growling like a bear after a winter hibernation that may be a different story.

Or if you are doing shots of 5 hour energy, drinking 7.5 cups of coffee, or shooting up some other stimulant like a heroine addict, that is not a good practice either.

Or if by the time you DO eat, you inhale food like a contestant voted off Survivor, then you may want to consider eating a small healthy breakfast.

But if you feel alert, focused, and energetic, then by all means, don’t eat breakfast.

You can stop reading this blog here if you are not curious as to WHY everyone has made you feel as guilty as a Catholic school girl, for not eating your Wheaties.

The fact of the matter is that we are biologically designed for famine, but I am not as convinced that God prepared the body for constant feast.

I am not saying that we should starve ourselves with drastic calorie restrictions, that is miserable, and we end up hangry, and a storage unit for fat.  But shoving food into our faces every 3 hours IS NOT helping our waist lines shrink or our disease rates plummet.

What you should know is the many studies show that intermittent fasting is VERY advantageous to your health.  So if you want to skip breakfast, and fast until you eat a healthy lunch.  Then by all means, do it!

But back to the why.

The “why” is actually quite simple.  The powers that be want you to consume more.  In other words they want you to spend more money.

If you have been following my recent blogs you know about the intimate relationship between food companies, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  Well, that cozy relationship extends to the USDA where we get myPyramid and MyPlate which come as a result of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines should be seen as nothing more than an advertisement to “eat more” food from the companies responsible for making us fat and sick.

We are told to….Eat more often to lose weight. Eat foods with more fiber. Eat more lean meats.  Eat more calories from whole grain foods.  Eat more low fat dairy. Eat protein and carbs right after a workout.

And you will hear these same lies coming from registered dietitians, personal trainers and nutritionists.  Please be aware that these are all well-meaning people.  This is what they are taught at school.

The problem we have in America is that we respect education as gospel, not realizing the unfortunate fact that most education is about profits, and politics too. (Check out how Big Pharma influences our medical schools here)

So you will hear and read nutrition rhetoric which will then match the health claims on packaged foods and animal products, thus encouraging our consumption of such products.

But there is more.  So much more….

Not only is crappy food promoted (or certainly not discouraged) through our nutrition advice, our government makes it financially beneficial for us to “eat more” of these products through subsidies.  When you subsidize food it creates surplus, accessibility, and it lowers the cost.  Subsidies encourage consumption.  So, while we have the illusion of food choice in this country, we are actually eating exactly what our Big Food companies want us to eat.  

Has the USDA ever said “don’t eat” a food product?  If I may quote my sassy niece Samantha’s response when my husband asks her for a hug… “NEVER!”  I know this because I have spent much time researching the history of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.  They have been controversial and heavily influenced by corporate interests since their inception, in 1980.

History shows that when we consume too much sugar and everyone gets diabetes, the USDA says choose artificial sweeteners instead.  In other words, replace sugar with man-made poison.  God forbid, they just say, “sugar is really bad for you and contributes to disease so drastically limit the amount you consume.”

Or as we all die of cardiovascular disease, they say choose lean meats, and low fat dairy instead. If you are a Madonna loving 80’s person, you remember that we were told to choose margarine over butter.  Until 30 years later, when they realized man-made trans fats were more dangerous than butter.  But never fear, we are back to butter again, and cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer in the U.S.

Hey USDA, why not just say “eat far less animal products because they are linked to ALL our most prevalent diseases.”

Here’s the thing.  Nutrition is simple.  Lies and misinformation are what complicate the situation. Doubt and confusion keeps you stuck.

Which is why I write these blogs, and why I have my online learning/coaching course, designed for smart women with inquiring minds that want to be informed, inspired and empowered.

I know that education will change the world, and the truth will set us free.

But doubt is Big Food’s product.  Anyone that has ever studied human behavior knows that people will do as they have always done, as long as they feel confused.  This is a play out of the tobacco industry handbook.  If I may quote a historic 1960’s internal memo from one of the big tobacco companies trying to deter “anti-cigarette science” that linked smoking to cancer…

“Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the “body of fact” that exists in the mind of the general public. It is also the means of establishing a controversy.”

The food companies, which were in fact birthed from the tobacco companies (RJ Reynolds Tobacco became RJR Nabisco) borrowed that brilliant play, and they continue to win with it.

Don’t forget, cigarette companies created low tar, light, and low filter cigarettes to combat growing concerns around smoking and lung cancer.

The fact of the matter is that low tar, light, and low filter cigs did not decrease your chances of lung cancer.  But they DID keep people smoking. Think about that next time you buy something low fat, skim, low cal, 30% more fiber, 85% lean or fortified with 10 essential vitamins and minerals….

Our food companies are trying to keep their market and stomach share while combating growing health concerns, and disease statistics. Like cigarettes, they are providing perceived “healthier” versions of their products, or new products altogether to keep you coming back for more.

The facts are this.  Since 1980, when the first U.S. Dietary Guidelines were issued to the American public, adult obesity rates have doubled, childhood obesity rates have tripled, and type 2 diabetes rates have more than tripled. (CDC statistics)

In summary, since we have been taking advice from our government(which thanks to lobbyists are legally bribed by Big Food) about what to eat, and how often to eat, we have just gotten sicker and heavier.  This is because the food industry is in the business of money, not health, and they have the USDA and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics by the gumballs.

But to be fair, the USDA and the Academy clearly care more about money than your health too.

So shake your head and forget everything you have ever been told about food and health, including the breakfast myth.  They are half truths, lies, and misinformation designed to keep you eating crappy food ALL. DAY. LONG.

Like I said.  The truth is simple.  Just eat real whole foods from the earth.  Mostly plants, and drastically limit animal products and processed foods.

Food altered and manipulated by man, is food for profit, not food for health.  The Standard American Diet is nothing more than a man-made profit machine that breeds disease, diets, drugs, and death by lifestyle.  This leads to more profits for our weight loss, medical and pharmaceutical industries (a story for another blog).

And that, my friend, is the real story behind your breakfast conundrum.

If interested in learning more like this, inquire about my next Healthy Life Club!