Doctor: Not eating the morning meal increases the risk of stroke

Numerous studies have shown that meal timing and frequency are associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease. Skipping breakfast frequently can lead to a stroke.

Dr. Ksenia Yuroslanova, Director of the Cardiovascular Aging Laboratory at the Russian Center for Research on Aging, points out that in addition, eating dinner after eight in the evening increases the risk of a heart attack.

“But people who practice intermittent fasting or fast during Ramadan, which also includes skipping meals, are less likely to develop cardiovascular disease,” she says.

She points out that, at first glance, this seems completely contradictory. But depending on the reason for skipping meals, fundamentally different mechanisms operate in the body. When a person regularly skips meals due to lack of time or other reasons, his body secretes the stress hormone cortisol. This steroid hormone causes inflammation and stimulates the growth of atherosclerotic plaques, leading to cardiovascular problems.

She says: “But when following an intermittent diet or fasting consciously, that is, the person prepares mentally and physically to skip meals, mechanisms that prevent the formation of atherosclerotic plaques are activated in the body. It also triggers the process of autophagy - cleaning the body’s cells of damaged components and toxins, which helps It reduces the activity of free radicals and slows down the aging process.

The expert advises not to give up eating main meals and pay attention to diet.