Breakfast is often acknowledged as the most important meal of the day, yet many of us skip it. Our working days seem to leave little time to enjoy a good breakfast in peace; instead, we rush out the door on an empty stomach. However, new research from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health has found that breakfast can actually be a lifesaver.
The study – which surveyed 26,903 men, ages 45 to 82, over a 16-year period – found a clear association between skipping breakfast and experiencing a heart attack or dying from coronary heart disease. Even after the researchers took into account other heart risk factors like exercise, sleep and diet, the statistics showed an incredible 27 per cent increase in one’s probability of having a heart attack or dying from coronary disease if breakfast is skipped.
“Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more of the associated risk factors including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may in turn lead to a heart attack over time,” explained the study’s lead researcher, Leah E Cahill.
Interestingly, the study also found a link between the timing of one’s evening meal and coronary heart disease and heart attack. If you eat your dinner right before bedtime, statistics showed that you will have a 55 per cent higher risk of experiencing either of these serious heart-related problems. This statistic is especially significant since many people, especially in this region, eat their evening meal late into the night.
The message is that your body needs time to digest food before you go to bed.
The worrying factor is that those people who tend to eat right before bedtime are often the ones that skip breakfast, too; they’re simply not hungry and not able to entertain the thought of food so early in the morning.
For breakfast, start with simple drinks such as smoothies or fresh vegetable juices. These are light enough to digest, but they’re full of vital nutrition and energy that will support the body and the heart. In the evening, try to eat at least two to three hours before going to bed.
Laura Holland is a well-being consultant and nutritional therapist. For more information, go to www.beutifulyou.co.uk
UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
