Nov 7, 2010 Lynn Lamb
If you could find that magic button that would make you smarter, gave you more energy and help you to lose weight, would you press it? Breakfast may be that magic button we have all been looking for. Eating a healthy breakfast with important breakfast foods can provide benefits that last all day.
The Purpose of Breakfast
After a good night’s sleep, breakfast is the opportunity to replenish the body with the nutrients needed to start the day. Eight to ten hours of going without food leaves the blood glucose levels low and the body depleted of a protein source.
Some of the benefits of eating a good breakfast include:
- Better ability to concentrate and improved mental functioning
- Increased energy levels
- Improved moods
- Weight control by curbing hunger and the desire to binge on high calorie foods
Breakfast is especially important for children. They cannot consume all the vitamins and minerals from two meals a day.
Eat the Right Breakfast Foods
There is a misconception that eating breakfast takes a long time and requires a lot of preparation. Some of my happiest teenage memories come from sitting together with the family on a Saturday morning and having a leisurely breakfast full of talk and plans for the weekend. But there is a simpler side to breakfast. Even in a rush, grabbing a quick breakfast can be easy and can change your entire day.
It is easy to picture the scene. You get up, shower and get ready to leave in a panic because you needed sleep and have already hit the snooze button three times and are now at least 20 minutes behind schedule (1). Then the thought of grabbing something to eat comes into your mind. You quickly fling open the refrigerator door, glance in and do not see anything that looks breakfast like. The fridge door slams shut, you grab a granola bar and you are off for the day with a high carbohydrate and sugar filled snack.
Having healthy and good breakfast foods can make even a rushed breakfast easy. Preparation is the key regardless if it is grabbing a quick breakfast on the run or sitting down for a relaxing family time. Having a healthy breakfast starts with having healthy food choices available.
Hot and cold cereals, bacon and eggs, and toast are common breakfast ideas. Recent research shows that eating breakfasts that contain fats may be the best way to start the day. Molly Bray, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology in the UAB School of Public Health suggests that timing of what you eat and when you eat it influences body weight (2). Eating fat at the time of waking appears to turn on fat metabolism and allows the body to respond to different types of food later in the day (2). On the other hand, consumption of high carbohydrate foods such as breads and grains, at waking tended to turn on carbohydrate metabolism and it seemed to stay on for the entire day regardless of what other food was eaten (2). Eating fat allows both fat metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism.
In order for our bodies to get the best use of a variety of food types throughout the day, the research suggests that eating fat for breakfast is a good idea. This does not mean that frying up bacon and sausages is the best breakfast.
There are many heart healthy fats that can be added to a morning meal. Avocados, walnuts, almond butter and peanut butter and flax seed oil are all excellent sources of heart healthy fats and provide additional health benefits. Avocados protect against prostate and breast cancer and contain antioxidants (3). Walnuts are known to protect against prostate cancer (4) and are important for healthy skin, aid in brain function, help keep blood vessels flexible and act as anti-inflammatory (5). Breakfast can be used to add heart healthy fats to a diet that can benefit you for the entire day and maybe a lifetime.
Protein is another important component of breakfast. Protein is found in all parts of the body including places most people would not expect such as hair and fingernails. The body does not store protein so making it part of breakfast is important. The most common sources of protein are meats, dairy products, nuts and dried beans.
Skipping Breakfast is not an Option
If you are thinking of skipping breakfast, think again. Research has shown over and over again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And it is the meal that is most often skipped. Sleeping in, not having enough time or just not feeling hungry are some of the excuses that you hear for missing breakfast. Common excuses are not good enough. There is a solution to every problem.
Excuse Number 1: I don’t have time.
Not having time in the morning is a common complaint when it comes to eating breakfast but having a quick easy to prepare breakfast on hand can provide you with a great start to the day. Having individual sized low sugar yogurts, protein shakes and protein bars can make quick starts to any busy day.
Excuse Number 2: I don’t feel hungry in the morning.
People often do not feel hungry as soon as they wake. One of the reasons can be a large evening meal or a heavy snack the night before. Cutting back on large meals and heavy carbohydrate snacks at the end of the day will not only help slow weight gain but can set you in step for a healthy breakfast in the morning.
Having a glass of water as soon as you wake can also stimulate the digestive system to start working, leaving you ready to eat after your morning shower.
Excuse Number 3: I can’t cook.
Breakfast is probably the easiest meal to prepare without having to cooking. Anyone can mix a protein drink, boil an egg , cut some cheese slices or grab a handful of nuts. Making the correct healthy eating choices comes with having the healthy eating choices available in your home.
Missing breakfast is a sure way to run low on energy during the day, decrease your ability to concentrate and stimulate you to participate in binge eating to catch up on those missed calories.
Excuse Number 4: If I skip breakfast, I will lose more weight.
Skipping breakfast is not an effective way to lose weight. It is only a way of avoiding immediate consumption of calories. A missed breakfast often results in increased desire to eat heavy calorie foods. An increased release of ghrelin, the hunger hormone, from the stomach into the blood may explain why a person who skips breakfast also finds high-calorie foods more appealing than low-calorie foods (6). After the night time fast while sleeping, not eating breakfast can also stimulate the starvation mode in the body which triggers the body to store any food consumed.
Eating a healthy breakfast that includes healthy fats and protein can provide many benefits throughout the day. Curbing hunger and better metabolism of food are two of the benefits. Enjoying a good breakfast may actually help you to control weight gain and make you thinner.
References
1. http://www.suite101.com/content/proper-sleep-is-important-in-avoiding-weight-gain-and-obesity-a305184
2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100330161751.htm
3. http://www.suite101.com/content/pick-an-avocado-for-a-healthy-heart-food-choice-a300575
4.(http://www.suite101.com/content/avoid--breast-cancer-and-prostate-cancer-with-healthy-eating-a301669
5. Bartimeus, Paula. 2009. The Top 100 Healing Foods Duncan Biard Publishers, London.
6. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100621091201.htm
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