Can a High-Fat Breakfast Be Good For You?

A new study from the University of Alabama appears to be setting conventional wisdom on its head. The study, published online on March 30 in the journal, International Journal of Obesity, shows that eating a high fat breakfast may actually prevent many of the dangerous symptoms of metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of symptoms that includes abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and high triglycerides. It frequently leads to full-blown diabetes, and even when it doesn't, it puts you at significant risk for heart disease.

The researchers in the study started with the accepted premise that too many calories equals health problems ranging from excess body fat to insulin resistance. That's a big "duh". But most studies have investigated the amount of calories and the type of calories (i.e. fat, protein and carbs in different proportions) eaten overall in the course of a day. What these researchers wanted to know was whether or not timing made any difference. In other words, did it matter if you ate your fat in the morning or the evening.

Conventional wisdom would say no. Conventional wisdom appears to be wrong, at least in mice.

The researchers fed mice either a high-fat breakfast or a high-carb one. The mice that were fed a high-fat breakfast had normal metabolic profiles and were easily able to burn fat more easily during the day. But the mice that ate a carb-rich diet in the morning (and a high-fat meal at the end of the day) had increased weight gain, belly fat, glucose intolerance and other cardiovascular risk factors.

"The first meal you have appears to program your metabolism for the rest of the day," said senior study author Martin Young, associate professor of medicine in the UAB division of cardiovascular disease, in a press release.

The researchers believe that a fat-rich breakfast somehow allows the eater to have a certain degree of adaptability and can adjust more easily to the dietary mix we tend to consume during the day, making it easier for us to burn both carbs and fat. In contrast, a high-carb breakfast seems to make it easier to burn carbs for the rest of the day but does not prime your body to burn fat as well.

While some news organizations have reported this study in a way to make it seem like we should throw away our oatmeal and load up on bacon and eggs, the truth is probably a bit more nuanced (as it usually is). But two take-home points seems clear, because they fit with everything else we've learned over the years:

1. Don't skip breakfast. It primes your metabolism for the rest of the day.

2. Have a breakfast with some fat in it. (That means you, egg-white omelet eater!) Also have some protein -- as many other studies show that high-protein breakfasts lead to greater sense of fullness, less overeating during the day.

This doesn't mean to throw away all your carbs at breakfast. But it does mean to rethink the high-sugar, high-carb breakfast that used to be considered the epitome of health (i.e. orange juice, toast, cereal, etc.). In fact, according to this research, that combo may work against your weight-loss goals.

And for that matter, should we really be avoiding saturated fats?

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