Breaking The Fast

I am sure you have heard these phrases before: breakfast of champions, the most important meal of the day, to be eaten like a King! What do they really mean? They remind us to make breakfast the most calorie dense nutritious meal of the day and are backed up by a body of research regarding the health benefits related to the regular consumption of breakfast.

In terms of Body Mass Index (BMI) and cognitive function, consuming something/anything for breakfast is better than having no breakfast at all. This makes sense. Just consider what breakfast literally means: break the fast. Ideally, overnight your body should be free from the addition of foodstuffs for 10 hours and as such need food to get you going in the morning. Further, the regular consumption of a healthy breakfast which includes complex carbohydrates, protein and fat is correlated with:
·         maintaining a healthy weight
·         higher overall ingestion of macro and micro nutrients
·         greater cognitive function and academic performance across a lifetime
·         exhibiting better motor function skills
·         consuming less overall calories across the entire day
·         having healthier interpersonal relationships
·         adopting healthy overall lifestyles. 

Yes, yes and further yes please to all the above! It is important to note the evidence behind these correlations encompasses children, adults and the elderly so it is never too early or too late to reap the benefits of regular healthy breakfast consumption. In fact research tells us that parental dietary habits have the most influence on dietary habits adopted by children and carried throughout their lifetime. Lead by example. If you can’t find a reason to start regularly consuming a healthy breakfast for yourself, do it for your children and their future health.

To sit here and suggest one way of eating breakfast for all would be mistaken. However based on what research has found, I have developed three golden rules to follow when it comes to breakfast.

1. Consume Breakfast

2. Make sure there is good quality protein, fat, and complex carbohydrates involved.

3. Choose ingredients which are tasty, provide the greatest nutritional 'bang for your buck' and which support your body in its present condition.

The last part of rule three, the condition of your body, is important to acknowledge. Broadly speaking, I have identified three types of ‘breakfast people’, the Tortoises, Hares and Even-Stevens.

If you have a Tortoise appetite first thing on rising, that is, a complete lack of or little appetite and perhaps even slight nausea, then choose breakfast options which are more easily digested like a smoothie. Another option for you is to start your day with some fruit, with a more substantial meal at around 10am when your body is ready.  This way you have still consumed breakfast but in a way which supports your body.  (By the way, there are reasons for the tortoise appetite which can be addressed.) 

Those with a Hare appetite tend to wake hungry and salivating and therefore should choose breakfast options which are quite substantial; cooked breakfasts or a robust muesli is best in this situation. 

The Even-Steven breakfast eater, who, you guessed it, lies somewhere between the Tortoise and the Hare, do best with a robust smoothie, muesli, lighter cooked breakfast or porridge.  

So no matter which type of breakfast person you are, remember the three golden rules: eat breakfast, make sure it contains complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and protein, has a high nutrient content and supports your body in its present condition.

Decide to make a simple positive change to your daily routine that will not only enhance your own health and well-being, but the well-being of all your family. New habits only take 21days to stick, so why not set yourself a 21day challenge to be brave and try new and differing breakfast ideas that comply with the 3 golden rules. See what fits best with your individual tastes and lifestyle, but most of all enjoy, for food is there not only to nourish but also to savour and relish!

Further Reading

1.      Walker KZ, Louie JC, Gill TP, Dunford EK. “Nutritional quality of Australian breakfast cereals. Are they improving?’ Appetite. 2012 Oct; 59(2):464-70. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2012.06.010. Epub 2012 Jun 21.

2.      Muller R, Krebs A, Baldinger N, Aeberli I. ‘Swiss children consuming breakfast regularly have better motor functional skills and are less overweight than breakfast skippers’. J Am Coll Nutr. 2012 Apr; 31(2):87-93.

3.      Radeborg K, Nilsson A, Bjorck I. Éffects on cognitive performance of modulating the postprandial blood glucose profile at breakfast’. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2012 Sep; 66(9):1039-43. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2012.80. Epub 2012 Jul 11.

4.      Rampersaud GC, Pereira MA, Metzl JD, Girard BL, Adams J. ‘Breakfast habits, nutritional status, body weight, and academic performance in children and adolescents’. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005 May; 105(5):743-60; quiz 761-2.

5.      Gomez-Abellan P, Garaulet M. ‘Timing of food intake and obesity: A novel association.’Physiol Behav. 2014 Jan 24. pii: S0031-9384(14)00003-1. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.001.

6.      Zuccotti GV, Sachet M, Rotilio G, Rovera G, Morcellini M, Montanari M, Minestroni L, Mele G, Marconi P,, Manna E, Mameli C, Lucidi F, Fransos L, Donegani G, Dilillo D, De Lorenzo G, Cecchetto G, Catalani L, Affinita A. ‘Breakfast: a multidisciplinary approach’. Ital J Pediatr. 2013 Jul 10; 39:44. doi: 10.1186/1824-7288-39-44.

7.      Wilson L, Morgan LM, Griffin BA, Gray J, Fallaize R. ‘Variation in the effects of three different breakfast meals on subjective satiety and subsequent intake of energy at lunch and evening meal’. Eur J Nutr. 2013 Jun;52(4):1353-9.  doi: 10.1007/s00394-012-0444-z. Epub 2012 Sep 5.