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Use the first meal of the day to kick off a healthy eating pattern.
You have probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In part, this is because some research suggests that eating a daily breakfast may help you to maintain a healthy weight or, if you are overweight, lose some pounds and keep them off. The research is not definitive on the question of breakfast and weight control, but breakfast has another important potential benefit.
"Breakfast is an important meal because it sets you up for the rest of the day," says Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of Tuft's HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory and executive editor of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. "That does not mean the first meal of the day needs to be what we traditionally think of as breakfast. However, it does appear that people who regularly consume breakfast have a better dietary pattern throughout the day and may avoid overconsuming calories later in the day."
The Research: In scientific circles, the formal definition of breakfast varies. But the word helps to define itself: at breakfast, you break your overnight fast. The first meal of the day is typically consumed within a few hours of...