Meal Shamed

Happy Monday! Let’s just get this out of the way: there’s nothing magical about breakfast, claims the New York Times this morning. (It should be noted that the article-writer is a known breakfast-skipper; but not to worry, this article will shoot to the #1 most emailed in no time.) According to studies that were not funded by breakfast-food companies, the whole thing is a shame scam for those of us who can’t resist actuallying each other with counterintuitive facts about metabolic rates. But what about hungry children who get school breakfasts? That’s not magic, that’s just common sense, right? On the whole, I get this guy’s point, but I still think the it bears pointing out that being a free citizen, able to choose whether to eat a bacon egg and cheese or a mason jar of overnight oats or nothing at all is pretty spectacular. Those of us who will ogle the sloppy fried eggs in the photo at the top of the post need not be shamed for thinking them magical, for that is precisely what they are — evidence of human ingeniousness and modern advancements so convenient they might actually harm us by allowing ourselves to gorge on previously scarce nutritional commodities. Also when it comes to health policy and message distribution, it’s probably safer to err on the side of encouraging people to get in the habit of eating at regular, moderated intervals rather than not. Just a guess.