Most of us grew up with the phrase, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Teachers said it, doctors repeated it, and marketers splashed it across cereal boxes. But does when you eat breakfast matter as much as what you eat?
A new STUDY published in Communications Medicine in 2025 offers a surprising twist: it suggests that delaying breakfast may be linked to higher illness rates, faster health decline, and even earlier death.
According to the researchers, “Each additional hour of delay in breakfast was associated with an 8–11% increase in all-cause mortality.” That’s a shocking statement, but before you panic and set an alarm for sunrise, let’s unpack what this really means, and what it doesn’t.
The Study at a Glance
Nearly 2,945 older adults, ages 42 to 94, were followed for more than 20 years. The researchers weren’t counting calories, checking cholesterol, or lecturing about carbs. Instead, they wanted to see whether breakfast meal timing was linked to health outcomes.
4 Important Findings the Researchers Found:
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The average breakfast time for people is around 8:00 am.
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Over the years, breakfast shifted later and later, sometimes toward 10 or 11 am for adults.
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Each one-hour delay in breakfast is linked to an 8–11% higher risk of death!
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By the end of the study, people who consistently ate later had lower survival rates than early eaters.
On the surface, this sounds like bad news for brunch lovers. But like most things in nutrition science, the story isn’t so simple.
Is Late Breakfast a Marker or a Cause?
This is the 64 million dollar question! Does eating breakfast at 10 am cause health decline? Or do you think it’s just a reflection of other issues going on in the body? The researchers believe it’s more likely a marker than a cause. I suspect this is why:
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Fatigue and low energy: If you’re exhausted anyway, you’re less likely to get up early and make food.
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Dental health problems: Missing teeth, BURNING TONGUE or painful gums make eating less appealing.
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Depression: Low mood often reduces appetite and motivation. Did you know hypothyroidism is often misdiagnosed and you’re told it’s depression? READ MORE.
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Living alone: Without family or social interaction, meals may lose their structure and appeal. Who wants to sit around the table all by themself?!
Each of these factors is linked to worse health outcomes and could explain why late breakfast overlaps with higher mortality.
What the Study Didn’t Measure
This is one of the biggest limitations – and it’s important.
The researchers did not evaluate what people actually ate. So “breakfast” could have been:
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A bowl of steel-cut oats with blueberries.
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A vegetable omelet with avocado… or maybe it was bacon and eggs with sausage gravy.
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Black coffee with two sugars or some type of latte (even a double shot of espresso – lots of caffeine)
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Or maybe it was pancakes and waffles with whipped cream… a socially acceptable way to eat cake for breakfast!
These choices affect the body very differently. For someone with hypertension, coffee on an empty stomach may spike blood pressure. For someone with diverticulosis, bacon and fried eggs may aggravate symptoms. For someone taking diuretics like hydrochlorothiazide, a skipped or poor breakfast means missing a chance to replenish potassium and magnesium – nutrients that drug quietly “mugs” from the body.
Without this dietary evaluation to give us context for what they ate, the study only paints part of the picture.
Possible Biological Explanations
If breakfast timing itself does play a role, here are some reasons why.
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Circadian rhythm: Eating late may throw off the body’s internal clocks that govern metabolism, digestion, and hormone release.
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Reduced appetite signaling: A later first meal could reflect diminished hunger cues, this is common as we age. I don’t eat as much now as I did at 30.
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Metabolic impact: Delaying food may shift the eating window in ways that increase blood sugar or worsen a person’s insulin resistance.
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Oral health and digestion: Poor dental health, acid reflux, or swallowing problems could naturally delay eating due to fear of backlash after the meal.
By the way timing your medications is critical to you receiving the best effect. It’s called chronotherapy, and TIMING OF THESE MEDICATIONS matters greatly!
Breakfast and Nutrient Depletion: A Pharmacist’s View
Here’s where my pharmacist brain kicks in. Meal timing is important, but nutrient intake and drug interactions matter even more.
Take magnesium, for instance. It relaxes blood vessels and helps control blood pressure. But many medications such as diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, and some antibiotics will deplete magnesium levels from you. Coffee can lower magnesium too. If your “breakfast” is just coffee (or espresso), you’re compounding depletion. Low magnesium doesn’t just raise blood pressure… it can worsen heart rhythm issues and increase fatigue.
Read this article next: Are You Taking the Right Kind of Magnesium? Pros and Cons of 5 Popular Types
And this article too! 20 Surprising Drug Muggers of Magnesium (And the Silent Health Crisis It Creates)
Or consider B vitamins. Metformin, a common diabetes drug, robs the body of B12. Skipping breakfast or replacing it with nutrient-poor foods means you’re not replenishing what the drug is taking away. Over time, low B12 can contribute to neuropathy, memory problems, and fatigue. See my brand here – it gets into your mitochondria and contains biologically active Bs – nothing is as strong as this on the market: Mito B Complex
These are just two examples of “drug muggers” in action. The larger point: breakfast timing may be a red flag, but breakfast content and medication side effects are the bigger puzzle pieces.
Practical Advice You Can Use
1. Pay attention to the pattern
If you notice that you’re delaying breakfast more and more, ask yourself why. Is it fatigue? Pain? Appetite loss? Social isolation? These could be clues to underlying health changes worth discussing with your doctor.
2. Focus on nutrient density
No matter when you eat, make breakfast count. Good options include:
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Oatmeal with berries and walnuts. Here’s a recipe for Baked Apples with Walnuts in case that sounds tasty!
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Eggs with spinach, mushrooms, or zucchini.
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A smoothie with protein powder, greens, and flaxseed.
3. Consider supplements
If you take medications that “mug” nutrients—like diuretics (potassium, magnesium), metformin (B12), or PPIs (magnesium)—work with your pharmacist to replenish them. Magnesium glycinate is a gentle, well-absorbed form that can support heart and muscle health.
4. Don’t stress over perfection
Not everyone thrives on a 7 am breakfast. But if your routine shifts dramatically say, from 7 am to 11 am most days – it may be worth evaluating.
So, What’s the Real Takeaway?
This study doesn’t prove that eating later causes earlier death. It does suggest that breakfast timing might be an early signal of health changes.
For the rest of us, it’s a reminder to look beyond the clock. Ask yourself:
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Am I nourishing my body with what it needs?
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Am I paying attention to how medications affect my nutrients?
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Am I noticing shifts in appetite or routine that could point to bigger changes?
Because ultimately, what’s on your plate—and how it supports your body—matters far more than whether you eat at 7:00 or 10:00.
Conclusion
The 2025 study on breakfast timing gave us a provocative headline: each hour of delay may be linked to a higher risk of death. But when you peel back the layers, the real lesson is more nuanced. Late breakfast might be a marker of fatigue, poor oral health, depression, or simply age-related changes—not the cause of decline.
So don’t panic if you love brunch. Instead, view breakfast timing as one more clue in your overall health picture. Pair that awareness with smart food choices, attention to nutrient needs, and good medical care, and you’ll give yourself the best chance at healthy aging.
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
