Starting your day with a full Irish breakfast can help you lose weight, say, scientists.

Researchers from Lubeck University in Germany, back in 2021, claimed that eating a large breakfast "provides a significant boost to the body’s metabolism." Ergo... having a large Irish breakfast for the first meal of the day can help the body burn up to two-and-a-half times the number of calories compared with a small breakfast.

According to research leader Dr Juliane Richter, larger meals at the beginning of the day trigger “diet-induced thermogenesis” or DIT, which generates more heat in our bodies and helps us to burn more calories.

“Our results show a meal eaten for breakfast – regardless of the number of calories – creates double the DIT as the same meal consumed for dinner” Dr. Richter explained.

“This finding is significant for all people as it underlines the value of eating enough breakfast.”

According to the study, low-calorie breakfasts can also lead to food cravings later in the day.

So feel free to enjoy a hearty plate of bacon, sausages, baked beans, eggs,  grilled tomatoes, and more. 

Full Irish breakfast recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients

- 6 thick slices of bacon

- 2 tablespoons butter or margarine

- 4 eggs

- 2 small tomatoes, sliced

- 1 ½ cups whole mushrooms

- 4 slices of prepared soda bread

Method

Lay the bacon slices in a single layer in a large skillet.

Fry over medium heat until it begins to get tinged with brown. Fry on both sides. Remove from pan, but save grease.

Melt butter in skillet. Crack eggs into pan, being careful not to break yolks.

Place tomato slices, mushrooms, and bread in pan.

Fry gently, stirring mushrooms and tomatoes occasionally. Keep everything separate. Turn bread over to brown on both sides.

When egg whites are set, but yolks are still runny, dish half of everything onto each of 2 warmed plates, and serve immediately.