Many people frequently skip breakfast due to busy schedules, working night shifts and sleeping during the day, lacking time for a morning meal, or wanting quick weight loss by believing it reduces calorie intake. However, breakfast is important, stimulating the digestive system and providing energy after a long night.

Skipping breakfast for a long time can negatively affect metabolism, causing fatigue, sluggishness, and reduced focus for work or study. Specifically, when you do not eat breakfast, the gallbladder cannot contract to push bile into the small intestine. This leads to bile remaining stagnant in the gallbladder for too long, creating conditions for cholesterol to deposit and eventually crystallize, forming gallstones.

Regularly skipping breakfast also impacts other organs. The brain and muscles may lack glucose, the main energy source that helps individuals stay alert and function effectively. An empty stomach for too long can lead to increased acid secretion, causing digestive disorders and reflux. Skipping breakfast disrupts fat metabolism, making it easier for fat to accumulate in the liver.

Doctor Ngo Thi Thanh Quyt advises a patient. Photo: Tam Anh General Hospital

This habit also increases cholesterol levels in bile and reduces the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), making bile flow more difficult and increasing the risk of gallstones. You should try to wake up earlier and eat a complete breakfast. A simple breakfast can still be nutritious, including items like oats, eggs, yogurt, fruits, or green vegetables. A full breakfast helps you stay alert, energized, and enhances overall health.

Specialist Doctor II Ngo Thi Thanh Quyt

Department of Gastroenterology - Hepatology - Biliary - Pancreatology

Tam Anh General Hospital, TP HCM