Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner as a pauper.
Why the big fuss over a healthy breakfast? Are there really health benefits to eating after waking or has the public become slaves to calories?
For years nutritionists have bellowed ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but is it really?
Breakfast has been placed on the on the backburner of priorities. Each non-breakfast eater among us will have their own seemly valid reason for bypassing this essential meal.
Skipping the essential meal is seemingly too easy and using our hectic morning routine is seen as a viable excuse. We are known to be a fast pace nation and every second really counts – especially pre-9am.
However, when a simple morning meal can increase brain activity by 47 per cent, the excuse seems a little weak. Weak – much like you may feel by lunch without that morning kick-start.
Eating a high energy and healthy breakfast full of fibre and the right carbohydrates could help to boost short term memory according to a 2004 study which looked at the brain patterns of young adults. A breakfast as simple as beans on toast has been shown to be beneficial.
Many local authorities around the UK now offer free breakfast clubs to primary children serving up breakfast. It’s not just kids that have to be reminded. How many times have you just grabbed the first available thing in the kitchen before running out the door when you are at work?
The authorities want to teach us that a healthy breakfast should be made a routine habit whether we are in school or even at work, and it’s definitely something we should not ignore.
The morning is when we most need to stock up on energy for the rest of the day. As the old saying goes, you should always breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner as a pauper. That way you will have energy you need at the right time.
Breakfast is not a Bagel at Lunchtime!
For breakfast to be appropriately titled breakfast, the food should be consumed within two hours of waking. Dr Cartwright, a nutrition specialist, tells DESIblitz that breakfast should be between 20-30 per cent of your daily calories and should not contain over 30 grams of sugar.
With this in mind, morning munchers must take a route of caution when deciding upon their morning fuel.
Some breakfast bars, packaged misleadingly as a ‘healthy substitute’ to breakfast can contain more sugar than a whole bar of milk chocolate.
Breakfast Eater or Breakfast Hater?
In a recent study 18 per cent of males and 13 per cent of females skip breakfast altogether. They considered breakfast to only be a necessity for children and will not have their first meal until midday or later.
25 per cent of males and 17 per cent of females only have breakfast on the weekend or when the opportunity to eat is presented ready and waiting.
Is an extra 10 minutes in bed really worth your bodies’ nutrition? People who rarely eat breakfast consume more fat and fewer nutrients compared to regular breakfast-eaters and ‘often’ breakfast-eaters, according to a study in 2011.
The Biggest Breakfast Myth – Skipping Breakfast Saves Calories
Breakfast is breaking the night’s fast. Eating breakfast lowers the risk of binge eating in the evening as your palate is not craving extra calories. The smart diet choice is to eat a healthy breakfast, not skip it as your body will feel satisfied.
The steady intake of food throughout the day will avoid needing food later and over compensating in the evening for the morning’s hunger. We burn off calories throughout the morning with the extra energy we consume from the early meal. Our bodies cannot burn as many calories after 6pm, and store that fat as extra weight.
Remember to not to be misled by healthy packaging on cereals though. The sugar content is quite the opposite so always read that label. The new 2014 guidelines recommend no more than 5 per cent of your daily calories should be sugar. Stay away from sugary cereals that will make your energy dip later in the day.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas
To avoid the sugar crash, try a healthy breakfast. We’re all accustomed to big DESI breakfasts like halwa puri and fried food that don’t do much for our health.
Instead, opt for muesli with low-fat yoghurt and fresh fruit, or porridge with mashed banana contribute to your five a day.
Baked beans on wholemeal toast is a breakfast naturally low in fat, and packed with fibre and vegetarian protein. Another good start to the day is parathas, stuffed with paneer or vegetables and served with yoghurt, a slow energy release, it should keep you going well into the afternoon.
Hopefully DESIblitz has inspired you to kick start your day with a little more energy. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, and with our ideas, a healthy choice can also be a tasty one. So what kind of healthy breakfast will you go for?
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