Breakfast being the most important meal of the day has been the dietitians anthem for the foreseeable past…and a phenomenon that has been ingrained in most of us from a young age. We have long been conveyed messages upon messages by our parents, health professionals and the general food industry communicating the benefits of eating breakfast, consolidated by the risks involved by not doing so. So where is the bottom line? How essential is that first meal of the day for our health? Let’s break the silence, fast:
Benefits of the morning meal
Eating breakfast is an asset to your over-all health and wellbeing, as well as improving both mental and physical performance throughout your day. Specifically:
It kick-starts your metabolism
Ahhh yes, it is so named: breaking-the-fast. After spending the night at rest, our metabolism’s have decelerated – which means our bodies are naturally burning less energy. Skipping this meal means it will remain sluggish throughout the morning as well as depriving our brain and body of essential nutrients to fuel our day. Feeding our bodies properly early on will help us efficiently burn energy through the day.
It helps maintain a healthy weight
You may think that less food overall = less chance of putting on weight. However, when it comes to breakfast, this is not the case. Research suggests that those who skip breakfast are hungrier overall and more likely to make poor food choices throughout the remainder of the day. And the food that they do eat, is metabolised by the body more slowly due to a sluggish metabolism!
It helps to meet daily nutrient targets
Ensuring we are getting a nutritious breakfast is a great way to get those essential nutrients in right from the get-go. Meeting our fruit and vegetable ideals can be tricky – but it is essential for the overall health of both our brains and bodies. Eating a fibrous breakfast can establish efficient prebiotic fibres for our gut microbiome, to ensure our system is happy and functioning adequality. This as a result can reduce inflammation, regulate metabolism, and support our hormones.
It improves performance
In more ways than one! Eating a good breakfast will provide your brain with the fuel it needs to get straight into the workday as soon as it kicks off. It will assist in enhancing our overall mental performance – including mood, memory, concentration, and alertness. A good morning meal will also assist in peaking our bodies physical performance. Adequate fuel from food will provide us with energy to burn and increase our chances of accomplishing higher physical standards. Would you try to drive a long haul with no gas in the tank? I think not – fill up first and go further!
What makes up a nutritious, balanced brekky?
So now for the how to! Unfortunately, donuts and roadhouse pies aren’t necessarily the best kind of gas in the tank (although a tasty treat from time to time). What we’re chasing on the regular is a breakfast that includes some carbohydrates, some protein, and some colour! Carbohydrates provide us with our first source of energy (brain and body), and protein fuels our muscles adequality to provide extended endurance throughout the day. Fruit and vegetables yield masses of essential micronutrients and minerals, keeping our over-all wellbeing in check. Start your day right with a mix of these – some good options can be seen below!
| Carbohydrate | Protein | Colour |
| · Oats
· Wholegrain bread · Wholegrain cereal · Banana · Wholewheat pancakes/waffles |
· Greek yoghurt
· Eggs · Cottage cheese · Dairy milk · Nuts/nut butter |
· Strawberries
· Pumpkin · Spinach · Citrus · No added sugar Fruit juice |