Why Healthy breakfast

• Do you have healthy breakfast or standard adult breakfast?

• A quick cup of coffee (or tea), and maybe a doughnut or sweet roll, is a standard adult breakfast.

• An increasing number of children arrive at school having eaten nothing at all.

• They don’t have time. They are not hungry in the morning, they want to lose weight, or they don’t feel it is important.

• A group of scientists spent 10 years studying the effects of eating breakfast. A good breakfast, they concluded, can help both children and adults...

• Be less irritable, More efficient, More energetic, (and) Have better test scores.

• Yes, breakfast helped children score higher on tests written before the noon recess.

• How? Breakfast provides a steady source of fuel to the brain,which greatly improves mental function and attention span.2

• Try starting your day with a whole-grain cereal, whole-grain bread, and a couple of pieces offresh fruit, and you’ll find that your energy level stays high all morning.

• Cereals, bread and fruit are energy foods—carbohydrates—which are easily converted into glucose—the fuel of the body. These foods are also loaded with vitamins and minerals, and rich in disease-fighting phytochemicals and antioxidants, which makes them healthy breakfast choices!

• Someone may ask, “what about having orange juice and a doughnut for breakfast?”

• We need something more substantial, something with more fiber in it.

• Low-fiber foods, especially sugary ones, quickly pass into the bloodstream and cause blood sugar levels to rise and then fall rapidly, often well below normal levels.

• Low blood sugar may result in physical problems including headache, false hunger, shaky hands, poor vision and irritability. No wonder so many people’s energy and efficiency levels drop off in the late morning hours.

• On the other hand, a high-fiber diet prevents too rapid absorption, ensuring a steady release of nutrients into the blood stream. This results in consistent energy throughout the morning.

• Fiber also absorbs water as it moves through the stomach and intestines, preventing constipation.

• Let’s compare some fiber-rich foods with similar but refined foods.

• Too many people are in the habit of staying up late, then sleeping in as long as they can in the morning. The solution?

• Try going to bed early enough so you can wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and with time to spare.

• Begin the day by drinking a glass or two of water. Get outside in the fresh air for some active exercise, like a brisk walk.

• Shower and dress for the day. Then eat a nourishing breakfast. It will boost your energy, increase your attention span, and leave you feeling better.

• This also works well with children. Put them to bed early enough... to wake up in time to join the family around the breakfast table.

• Unfortunately, many people are saying, “But I’m just not hungry in the morning!” Why? Probably the biggest culprit is that large meal in the evening, and the late TV snacks.

• What is the solution?Eat a light supper and at least four hours before bedtime. We actually sleep much better on an empty stomach.

• What about weight loss?With the increasing need to lose weight, many people believeskipping breakfast will help them accomplish this goal.

• Surprisingly, this is only an illusion. Breakfast studies demonstrated that the omission of breakfast does not help in weight reduction.

• It’s actually a disadvantage because those whodo not eat breakfast experience increased hunger and eat more snacks and food the rest of the day.

1 Craig, Winston, 1993, Eating For Good Health, Golden Harvest Books, Eau Claire, Michigan, p. 63.2 Belloc, N., Breslow, L. 1972. Relationship of Physical Health Status and Health Practices. Preventive Medicine (1)411-415.Breakfast Source Book, Cereal Institute, Chicago, p. 13.Craig, Ibid., p.64.; Zelman, Kathleen, MPH,RD, Atlanta spokeswoman for the American Dietitic Association, by 2000 WebMD Corp, Sept 21, 2000.Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine, Nicklas, Theresa, DrPH,LDN, professor of pediatrics at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor;Sept. 21, 2000 by 2000 WebMD Corp; Craig, Winston, 1993, Eating For Good Health, Golden Harvest Books, Eau Claire, Michigan, p. 64.(A portion of this nugget comes from the book, Health Power, by Aileen Ludington, MD, and Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2000, p. 172-175.)

Internal links in "natural-remedies-healthy-lifestyle.com":

Why is nutrition important

Return to Home Page,From Current: "Healthy Breakfast"