The healthiest foods to eat for breakfast provide your cells with the nutrients your body needs to function efficiently, give you enough energy until your next meal and reduce your risk of chronic disease. If you are an apparently healthy adult, you have a larger selection of foods to choose from. If you have health conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure, you must choose breakfast foods carefully.
Significance
Breakfast can help you minimize your consumption of fatty, sugary and salty foods later in the day. If you skip breakfast, you are inclined to compensate for the lack of energy by bingeing on unhealthy foods. Breakfast replenishes the blood sugar or glucose your cells used while you were sleeping. Your body undergoes a significant amount of repair, remodeling and growth during sleep, consuming the glucose from the foods you ate the day before. Eating a healthy breakfast can help you eat fewer calories over the course of the day, reducing your potential for becoming overweight and obese.
Considerations
Eat something for breakfast at least one hour before your workout if your goal is to improve your fitness or athletic performance. Consume slow-digesting grains and fruits for fuel to last you through your workout. If your goal is to lose weight, exercise first then eat immediately after your session. Your post-workout breakfast should include a small serving of fast-digesting, refined carbohydrates and lean protein; fast-digesting grains will optimally replenish the stored energy in your muscles so that you can exercise at a moderate to vigorous intensity the next morning.
Heart Disease Risk Factors
Some foods may be good for breakfast for an apparently healthy adult, but may not be a wise choice if you have certain health conditions. If you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes, three risk factors for heart disease, you must closely monitor the food you eat for breakfast. Choose slow-digesting carbs if you have diabetes, such as all-bran cereals, whole wheat tortillas and breads, apples, sweet cherries, oranges and skim milk. Limit the amount of sodium in your breakfast to 500 milligrams if you have high blood pressure. Refrain from eating high-fat and high-cholesterol foods like egg yolks, butter and fatty meats if you have high cholesterol.
Breakfast Ideas
If you are not working out in the morning, eat a slice of sprouted grain bread slathered with 1 tbsp. of natural peanut butter and ½ tbsp. of an all-fruit spread. Include 2 cups of skim milk and a medium apple. For a post-workout breakfast, eat two small buttermilk pancakes, two scrambled eggs, 1 cup of skim milk and 1 tbsp. of pancake syrup. If you have one or more heart disease risk factors, eat two slices of whole wheat bread with ½ tbsp. of all-fruit spread on each slice. Use ½ cup of an egg substitute or cook four egg whites as your source of lean protein. Drink 1 cup of skim milk to complete your breakfast.
References
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Your Clients Are What They Eat: Balancing Weight with Diet Part 1; Gary Miller, Ph.D.; January/February 2005
- "Strength and Conditioning Journal"; Pre- and Postexercise Feeding; Jose Antonio, Ph.D., October 2007
- "ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal"; Glycemic Index: An Educational Tool for Health and Fitness Professionals; Stephen Wong, Ph.D., and Susan Chung, R.D.N.; November/December 2003
- Cleveland Clinic: Low Sodium Diet Guidelines
- Mayo Clinic: Heart-healthy Diet: 8 Steps to Prevent Heart Disease
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