Skipping breakfast could be harmful for diabetics

According to Tel Aviv University research that "fasting" until noon triggers major blood sugar spikes (postprandial hyperglycemia) and impairs the insulin responses of type-2 diabetics throughout the rest of the day.

TAU's Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz said that it's quite remarkable that, for type-2 diabetic individuals, the omission of breakfast is associated with a significant increase in all-day blood sugar spikes and of HbA1C, which represents average blood glucose levels over the preceding three months.

The clinical study was conducted on 22 type-2 diabetics who averaged 56.9 years old, with a mean Body Mass Index of 28.2 kg/m2. Over the course of two days, the participants consumed precisely the same number of calories and the same balanced meal-milk, tuna, bread, and a chocolate breakfast bar-for lunch and dinner. The only difference was that one day they ate breakfast and the second day they fasted until lunch.

According to the researchers, pancreatic beta cells which produce insulin lose their "memory" due to the prolonged period between one evening's dinner and the next day's lunch. In other words, they "forget" their vital role. Therefore it took additional time after lunch for the beta cells to recover, causing small and delayed insulin responses and resulting in an exaggerated elevation of blood glucose levels throughout the day.

Another factor is that fasting until lunch increases the fatty acids in our blood, which renders insulin ineffective in reducing blood glucose levels.

Jakubowicz said that they highly recommend that type-2 diabetics not skip breakfast, because it causes major damage to the beta cell function and leads to high sugar levels, even if they don't overeat at lunch and dinner.

The study is published in Diabetes Care.