Breakfast vs dinner: Which meal should you skip while fasting?
Siddhartha Jana
Skipping breakfast affects the body's daily metabolic reset, decreases insulin sensitivity, lowers energy expenditure, and may result in compensatory overeating and poor cognitive performance.
Source: Canva
Skipping dinner might prolong overnight fasting, perhaps improving metabolic autophagy and insulin sensitivity, but it can also trigger energy crashes in the evening, impair sleep, and raise the risk of muscle breakdown.
Source: Canva
Breakfast skipping has more severe unfavourable metabolic effects than dinner skipping, as it affects daily metabolic programming and energy management.
Source: Canva
Morning fasting coincides with the body's natural metabolic peak, resulting in improved fat oxidation, insulin sensitivity, and glucose management due to heightened cortisol and growth hormone levels.
Source: Canva
Evening fasting, which prolongs overnight fasting, can disturb circadian rhythms, diminish metabolic efficiency, and affect insulin sensitivity.
Source: Canva
Skipping breakfast frequently causes heightened hunger hormones, resulting in impulsive eating, mood swings, and tension, whereas skipping dinner may cause evening anxiety and sleep disruption.
Source: Canva
Fasting in the morning may benefit diabetics by improving daytime insulin sensitivity and glucose control, but skipping dinner may help patients with high morning cortisol levels achieve hormonal balance.
Source: Canva
To achieve the best outcomes, personalised fasting procedures should take into account individual metabolic needs, energy demands, and unique health issues such as GERD, metabolic syndrome, or abnormal sleep patterns.