New study recommends a low-carb, high-fat breakfast for weight loss

The key to controlling weight gain is to have a high-fat breakfast, new research suggests.

A low-carb, high-fat breakfast could help people to control their weight as it stops blood sugar spiking later in the day. That spike is responsible for our junk food cravings.

The study by Canadian researchers found that swapping porridge for something like a cheese omelette can help people control their blood sugar levels.

According to associate professor at the University of British Colombia, Jonathan Little, that large sugar spike we get following breakfast is because “typical Western breakfast foods – cereal, oatmeal, toast and fruit – are high in carbohydrates”.

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All of the participants in the study ate the same lunch and dinner. For breakfast they alternated between porridge on one day and a cheese and celery omelette on the other.

Their glucose was measured every five minutes with a small device attached to their stomach. The participants also reported whether they felt hungry or full throughout the day.

The low-carb, high-fat breakfast completely prevented that post-breakfast sugar spike that has us reaching for the nearest junk food.

The effect of the breakfast was enough to improve the stability of glucose readings for the next 24 hours. Having stable glucose levels makes you less likely to pick up junk food in a bid to quell a craving.

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Professor Little said: “You are going to avoid the largest spike in glucose that you have in the day and you may feel less hungry and less likely to eat junk food later on in the day.”

He continued: “Perhaps a low-carb high fast breakfast might be a relatively simple strategy that you can employ to help optimise your diet.”

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