A healthy breakfast in the morning can set you up for a day of healthy eating. Breakfast provides you with energy for the morning and can help prevent extreme hunger later in the day. Just any breakfast will not do, however. Sugary donuts or fatty sandwiches filled with sausage and cheese may leave you feeling sluggish and unsatisfied. Make eating a healthy breakfast a priority.
Considerations
Regularly skipping breakfast can actually cause you to gain weight. A study from Brown University Medical School published in the December 2006 issue of "Adolescent Health" found a correlation between skipping breakfast and weight gain in almost 10,000 adolescents as they transitioned to adulthood. Participants whose dietary behavior included regularly skipping breakfast had increased body mass indexes over five years. Skipping breakfast may cause you to be overly hungry and overeat later in the day. Unhealthy breakfasts, consisting of foods high in saturated fats, refined flours, sodium and added sugars, may leave you feeling sluggish and can set a precedent for poor choices later in the day.
Benefits
A healthy breakfast may help improve your overall nutritional profile, notes the American Council on Exercise. Breakfast can also support weight loss. Over 75 percent of the members of the National Weight Control Registry --- a group of more than 5,000 people who have successfully lost and maintained a weight loss averaging 66 lbs. --- report eating breakfast as a strategy contributing to their success. A study in "Indian Pediatrics" published in October 2008 found that 11-to-13-year-olds who consumed breakfast regularly performed better in school.
Features
A healthy breakfast ideally contains a lean protein to keep you full, a healthy carbohydrate to provide energy and a small amount of unsaturated fat to help you feel satisfied. Egg whites, ground turkey, protein powders, low-fat dairy and smoked salmon are examples of healthy protein choices. Carbohydrates such as whole-grain bread or cereal, fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. Unsaturated fats include olive oil, avocado and nuts. Although one large egg contains about two-thirds of the recommended dietary cholesterol limit of 300 mg per day, it provides essential nutrients, including vitamin E, vitamin B12 and lutein. If you do choose an egg at breakfast, seek to limit other sources of cholesterol during the day, suggests the American Heart Association.
Meal Ideas
Pancakes and waffles can be healthy options if you make substitutions in the recipe. Use whole-wheat flour instead of white flour and safflower or canola oil instead of butter or vegetable oil. Keep the amount of sugar added to the batter to a minimum. Serve them with applesauce, berries and yogurt instead of sugary syrup and butter. One egg, scrambled with two egg whites, chopped vegetables and 1 oz. of low-fat mozzarella cheese served with a whole wheat English muffin or bagel is another option. If you have limited time in the morning, you can still enjoy a healthy breakfast. A bowl of whole-grain cereal, containing about 5 g of fiber and less than 5 g of sugar per serving, with 1 cup of skim milk and 1/2 cup of blueberries, qualifies as a healthy breakfast. Make a wrap with a whole-wheat tortilla, a whole banana and 2 tbsp. of almond butter for an on-the-go healthy breakfast option. In a pinch, grab an apple, a handful of almonds and a string cheese to provide healthy nourishment in the morning.
References
- American Council on Exercise: Don't Skip Breakfast to Cut Calories
- Pub Med.gov: Fast Food Consumption and Breakfast Skipping: Predictors of Weight Gain From Adolescence to Adulthood in a Nationally Representative Sample.
- Pub Med.gov: Breakfast Eating Habit and Its Influence on Attention-Concentration, Immediate Memory and School Achievement.
- American Heart Association: Common Misconceptions About Cholesterol
- AskDrSears.com: Choosing Cereal
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