Exact number of calories you should eat at breakfast to slash heart disease risk
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Scientists have uncovered the amount of calories we should be eating at breakfast to protect our heart from deadly diseases. A new study has pinpointed how much we should be eating to start our days - as well as the types of food that are best. For years there has been much debate around whether breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. And while there are conflicting theories on if we should even eat breakfast or skip it altogether, new evidence suggests it can play a huge role in our heart health.
It could also improve quality of life and promote health ageing. Karla-Alejandra Pérez-Vega, a researcher at Hospital del Mar and CIBER for Obesity and Nutrition, said: “Promoting healthy breakfast habits can contribute to healthy aging by reducing the risk of metabolic syndrome and associated chronic diseases, thereby improving quality of life.”.
This was particularly true for older people at risk for heart disease, researchers said. As part of the study, which was published in The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Ageing, the team followed 383 adults for three years. Participants were aged between 55 and 75 and all had metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels. As reported by Study Finds, they were also following a weight-loss lifestyle intervention based on the Mediterranean diet.
It was found that people who ate either too little (less than 20 percent of their daily calories) or too much (more than 30 percent) were worse off healthwise compared to those who ate 20 to 30 percent of their daily caloric intake during their morning meal.
