Many young people often skip breakfast due to time constraints in the morning. We all know the importance of breakfast, but do you know what harms skipping breakfast can bring? Let's find out together.
1. Harm to the digestive system
Normally, the food from the previous night is emptied from the stomach into the intestine after about six hours. If you don't eat breakfast the next day, stomach acid and various digestive enzymes in the stomach will start to "digest" the gastric mucosa. Over time, the normal function of cells secreting mucus will be disrupted, which can easily lead to digestive system diseases such as gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers.
2. Harm to the brain
Although the brain accounts for only 2-3% of the body's weight, its blood flow is about 800 ml per minute, oxygen consumption is about 45 ml per minute, and glucose consumption is about 5 grams per hour. The brain tissue of adolescents is in a developmental stage, and its demand for blood, oxygen, and glucose is even higher than that of adults. If blood sugar is too low, the brain's conscious activities will be impaired. Over the long term, this will inevitably affect the weight and morphological development of the brain.
3. Makes you react slowly
Breakfast is the source of energy for brain activity. Without eating breakfast, the body cannot supply enough blood sugar for consumption, leading to fatigue, inability to concentrate, listlessness, and slow reactions.
4. Causes arteriosclerosis and makes you more prone to obesity
Many adolescent students skip breakfast because they are afraid of gaining weight. This practice is completely unscientific. The human body's demand for calories has a standard. Skipping breakfast will inevitably increase the amount of food consumed at lunch and dinner. Since the amount of exercise after dinner is generally small, it is easier to accumulate fat and lead to obesity. In addition, long-term skipping of breakfast can also cause cholesterol and lipoproteins to deposit on the inner walls of blood vessels, leading to hardening of the arteries.
5. May lead to chronic diseases
Skipping breakfast and starting the day's work on an empty stomach, the body will use glands such as the thyroid, parathyroid, and pituitary gland to burn tissue for energy. This not only causes glandular hyperactivity but also makes the body more acidic, leading to chronic diseases.
6. The stomach may "rebel"
Skipping breakfast and not eating until noon, the stomach remains in a state of hunger for a long time, which can lead to excessive secretion of stomach acid, thus easily causing gastritis and gastric ulcers.
7. Can cause hypoglycemia
After a night's sleep, the body's nutrients are depleted, and the blood sugar concentration is in a low state. Not eating or having a light breakfast cannot replenish the blood sugar concentration in time, leading to symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, limb weakness, and listlessness in the morning. In severe cases, it can even lead to hypoglycemic shock, affecting normal work.
8. Prone to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
During a night's sleep, the body loses a large amount of water through breathing, urination, and other visible or invisible sweating. If you don't eat breakfast or drink water, it can lead to a decrease in blood volume, increased blood viscosity, and increased platelet aggregation, making it easy for tiny blood clots to form. This can easily block cardiovascular and cerebrovascular vessels, causing disease, which middle-aged and elderly people should pay special attention to.