How Skipping Meals Can Hurt Your Health
If you’re a normal-weight, middle-aged adult, skipping meals may be harmful to your health.
Here’s why:
In a recent study, a small group of men and women took part in 2 eight-week treatment periods.
They were separated into 2 groups during each treatment period:
1. A group whose diet consisted of eating all their calories in ONE meal per day…
2. A group whose diet consisted of eating all their calories in THREE meals per day…
Because each person eventually participated in both diets, they were able to act as their own controls.
Here’s what happened:
When the study group ate only 1 meal a day, their blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL or “bad” cholesterol all rose significantly as compared to the group who ate 3 meals a day.
This happened even though the 1-meal-a-day group had a slight reduction in weight and fat mass as compared to the other group.
The one-meal group also had results that were alarming from a diabetes standpoint.
They had higher morning fasting blood sugar levels, higher and longer lasting elevations in blood sugar concentrations, and a delayed response to their bodies’ insulin as compared to the 3-meal-a-day group.
It would be interesting to see the results of 3 meals a day vs. 5 meals a day.
But for now, it seems clear that skipping meals, especially if you only eat one meal a day, can be bad for your health.
Technorati Tags: blood pressure, blood sugar, diabetes, cholesterol, skipping meals, one meal a day, three meals a day
