Do you skip breakfast often? Gastroenterologist shares 4 ways it can affect your digestion

From upsetting gut health to increasing acid production, here’s what happens when you skip breakfast.

Many people tend to skip breakfast, whether to lose weight, save time, or simply because they don’t feel hungry in the morning. However, consistently missing this important meal can have serious effects on your overall health.

Consistently missing breakfast can have serious health effects. (Freepik)

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Surakshith TK, senior consultant-gastroenterology and hepatology, Fortis Escorts, Okhla, said, “Not eating breakfast is unhealthy for digestion as it slows down metabolism, stimulates the stomach to produce more acid, damages the health of the gut, and leads to excessive consumption of food during the day. For improved digestive health and general well-being, a person should begin the day with breakfast.”

1. Slows down metabolism

If you do not have breakfast, your body has no fuel after having rested for an entire night. Your metabolism, thus, slows down. Eating a balanced breakfast kick-starts your metabolism, maintains your blood sugar level steady, and facilitates smooth digestion throughout the day. If you miss breakfast, your body enters starvation mode, and it conserves energy rather than burning it, thus slowing down digestion.

Skipping breakfast can increase acid production. (Freepik)

2. Increases acid production

Skipping breakfast can increase the amount of acid in the stomach. This excess acid can cause pain and even diseases like acid reflux or gastritis. Since the body is not receiving food in the morning, your stomach continues to produce acid anticipating a meal, which can irritate the stomach lining and esophagus. This pain can disrupt your meal in the second half of the day.

3. Upsets gut health

Your digestive system functions best when it's in a routine, too. Missing meals, especially breakfast, also breaks the regular rhythm of digestion. The gut needs to have an ongoing supply of food so that everything continues to move along and constipation doesn't catch up with you. Missing breakfast makes you balloon, have indigestion, and experience irregular bowel movements as your digestive system weakens.

4. Makes you overeat later

Going without breakfast would leave you hungry during the afternoon, and that might lead to overeating during lunch or dinner. This immediate intake of food usually irritates the digestive system and causes bloating, indigestion, or discomfort. Daily intake of small portions over the course of a day, starting from breakfast, is required to maintain the digestive system under control.

Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.