When you’re on a diet, you might think it is beneficial to skip breakfast. It’s not. While some of your grandmother’s words of wisdom may be off the wall, the old adage “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” is true. Eating breakfast can help you meet your daily nutrient needs and actually helps control your weight. Breakfast also increases your morning productivity and concentration. Do not skip breakfast, but rather tailor your breakfast to whatever diet you’re following, whether it’s a glycemic index diet or a low sodium diet.
GI Basics
The glycemic index, GI, diet rates carbohydrates based on how they affect your blood sugar levels. Low glycemic carbohydrates are those that have a minimal effect on blood sugar levels, whereas high glycemic carbohydrates are those that produce spikes, and subsequent drops, in blood sugar. When following a GI diet, the goal is to consume low glycemic index carbohydrates to control blood sugar levels.
Originally, the GI diet was developed to help diabetics keep their blood sugar levels steady throughout the course of the day. As people began to drop pounds on the diet, it became a popular weight-loss tool.
GI Breakfast Options
When putting together a low glycemic index breakfast, focus on choosing low glycemic carbohydrates and coupling them with lean protein sources to create a balanced meal that doesn’t affect your blood sugar significantly. Some low glycemic grain choices include oatmeal, pumpernickel bread, 100 percent stone-ground wholewheat bread, oat bran cereal and muesli. When choosing oatmeal, opt for rolled or steel-cut varieties, rather than quick oats, which are medium GI, or instant oats, which are high GI. Generally, the less cooking time involved, the more processed the grain is. Most fruits and nonstarchy vegetables, like broccoli, spinach and mushrooms, are also ranked as low GI.
Choose a low GI grain, such as oatmeal, and pair it with a handful of fresh berries and a small handful of almonds. Opt for a slice of pumpernickel toast with a veggie omelet. Prepare a bowl of bran cereal with a side of eggs scrambled with spinach and mushrooms.
Low-Sodium Breakfast Options
An important thing to remember when choosing breakfast on a low sodium diet is to eat fresh whenever possible. Fresh fruits and vegetables are generally low in sodium, so make these the basis of your breakfast. Include eggs, egg substitutes and low-sodium peanut butter. You can also include milk, yogurt and low-sodium cheeses, like cream cheese and mozzarella, but avoid high-sodium cheeses, like American cheese and cheese spreads.
Breakfast Meats
Although they have become an American breakfast staple, processed breakfast meats like sausage, ham and bacon are loaded with sodium. When following a low-sodium diet, it is best to avoid these breakfast items completely. If available, you may include low-sodium versions of these meats, but do so in moderation.
Keep in mind that turkey bacon, which is often used to replace bacon made from pork, generally contains more sodium, so it is not a healthy alternative for a low-sodium diet.
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