Many people neglect or forget to have breakfast because they don’t understand the importance of breakfast. Yet this act is essential to start the day well, especially for children still growing. Various reasons can cause the forgetfulness of the lunch such as the lack of time or the absence of a feeling of hunger…
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After eight to twelve hours without eating, our bodies and brains need fuel. A breakfast consisting of ready-to-eat cereals can help start our metabolism and prepare us for a good day.
Why do not forget the importance of breakfast? What can be the consequences of forgetting to have breakfast? What are the tips to remember to have breakfast? What are the benefits of breakfast? Weddingincana.com takes stock with you.
Why Do Not Forget the Importance of Breakfast?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day: when taken correctly, it must provide the body with a quarter of the energy needs it will need during the day.
Having breakfast is also essential as it helps to recover after the long “fasting” of the night.
To eat is, therefore, a priority when you wake up. Breakfast helps energize the muscles and brain: it provides the body with the nutrients it needs to perform daily tasks, whether mental or physical. Breakfast is therefore important for children, but also for adults.
Your brain does not have space to store energy, so it is particularly affected by the lack of food. If glucose, the main source of energy in your brain, is not renewed after a night’s sleep, it will not work optimally, just like the engine of a car that runs out of gas. Researchers have found that eating breakfast on a regular basis helps our brain function at full speed. We know that having a meal in the morning helps us to have a good diet in general. (Source 1 *, 2*, 3*).
Studies have shown that children and adolescents who skip breakfast have a higher risk of becoming overweight. We also learned that adults who eat breakfast have a better diet than others and that they are able to control their weight better than those who pass their turn in the morning. In fact, 78% of people listed in the US National Weight Control Registry (US National Weight Control Registry), a database of people who have lost at least 10% of their body weight, and who do have not gained weight for at least a year, specify that they eat every morning. (Source 2*, 4*).
The Consequences of a Breakfast
When breakfast is not taken, the body is forced to draw on its reserves. In addition, it is not uncommon to experience some unpleasant effects such as:
– Hypoglycemia crisis
– Concentration problem
– Feeling tired
– Discomfort
A Few Tips to Remember to Take Your Breakfast
– Prepare the breakfast table the night before;
– Avoid routine and regularly change the breakfast menu;
– Get up a little earlier to have time to eat calmly and without stress;
– Start with a glass of freshwater to open your appetite;
If you cannot eat in the morning, you can also consider having breakfast on the way.
The Benefits of Breakfast
1 – Breakfast Gives Us Energy for the Day
Breakfast is known to be the most important meal of the day, as it follows a fasting period of 8 to 12 hours (overnight). It must be large enough to meet our energy needs for the first part of the day to give us the strength to hold until lunch.
Thus, the absence of breakfast can be manifested by a state of fatigue or concentration disorders, as we will see in the following point.
2 –Breakfast Improves Concentration and Memory.
During the night, the glucose (sugar) in the blood drops, our organs (especially the organs that can only work with glucose as fuel – example: the brain) then work less well because they do not receive enough energy to function properly, which is why we run out of energy in the morning.
Studies show that children who eat breakfast before school are in better mental shape during the morning: their memory is better, their creativity or their concentration is better, unlike children who do not have breakfast which then show more problems of concentration or memorization. (This observation is also valid for adults: eating breakfast can be more productive in the morning.)
Eating breakfast, therefore, gives us the “strength” necessary to attack the morning – making us able to think clearly, learn or work.
3 – Less Risk of Deficiencies
Breakfast is an opportunity for your body to receive nutrients essential to the functioning of your body. People who skip breakfast will have more risk of deficiencies in the long run, especially if their diet over the rest of the day is unbalanced.
4 – Breakfast Prevents from Nibbling.
If you start the day with an empty stomach, you will probably feel a little hollow during the morning which may distract you or cause you to nibble (Source 5*).
But, lacks luck, the things we nibble outside meals are often the least balanced: pastries, biscuits, bar cereals, etc. These are often filled with sugars and fats: nothing interesting for your body in the long run.
5 – Breakfast Prevents You from Gaining Weight.
Some people claim that skipping breakfast will help you lose weight. Think again!
Many studies have been done on the subject and the conclusions are amazing: people who do not eat in the morning have on the contrary much more difficulty controlling their weight. The study by The American Journal of Epidemiology shows that those who skip breakfast are those who are more affected by overweight or obesity. (Source 6*).
These results could be explained by the fact that has not satisfied their morning hunger, these people would be more likely to nibble and consume meals or snacks richer in calories to compensate for their hunger at the next meal.
6 – Breakfast Stimulates the Metabolism.
Another benefit of breakfast: Did you know that eating a good breakfast in the morning would stimulate the metabolism of the body? This first meal of the day gives the body the signal to burn calories, thus avoiding fat storage and massive weight gain.
Another point that confirms that having breakfast would stabilize its weight and not take it!
7 – Breakfast Allows Eating More Healthily.
Eating breakfast is one of the attitudes to have for a balanced diet. It allows having a structured diet with a meal at regular times.
It is also an opportunity for us to consume foods that are lacking in our diet: I am thinking in particular of fruits, which we tend to consume in insufficient quantities. The breakfast then becomes an easier occasion to consume, and consequently to reach the 5 fruits and vegetables recommended per day.
Certainly, we noticed the importance of breakfast. But it would be nice to know that a balanced breakfast would be even more beneficial.
The Menu of a Balanced Breakfast
Here are the essential foods for a balanced breakfast:
• A dairy product (milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese …);
• A fruit or a fruit juice: they allow you to provide you with vitamin C and sugar requirements;
• A cereal product (bread, cereals, rusks …);
• A hot or cold drink to rehydrate.
It is quite possible to integrate products containing fat and/or sugar such as butter, spreads, honey, or jams.
Butter will help to meet some of your vitamin A needs.
However, they must be consumed in reasonable proportions.
*** What Food Items Should Breakfast Contain?
– Whole grain bread or cereals that are soluble in milk (such as oats) because they contain dietary fiber;
– Milk and its derivatives to feed the body with calcium and proteins;
– Eggs because they contain vitamins, minerals, and lipids;
– Fruits, which are best consumed during breakfast since they contain essential vitamins for bodybuilding such as apples, pears, or bananas. It is also better to take dried fruits and dates;
-Fruit juices such as natural orange juice;
– Good lipids for the health of the individual especially for children such as olives or olive oil;
As it is advisable to diversify foods during breakfast to cover all energy needs.
*** What Are the Harmful Foods to Avoid During Breakfast?
– Avoid industrialized foods such as cold cuts. This, because they contain a high level of lipids, salts, and food preservatives;
– Crisps, sweets, and cakes produced especially for children because they contain high levels of sugar, fat, salts, and energy calories harmful to health. It is better to substitute them with corn or toast…
Summary – The Importance of Breakfast
– The decrease in cholesterol level and the rate of insulin;
– The normalization of blood glucose;
– The contribution to the degradation of lipids;
– Facilitating and regulating digestion during the rest of the day’s meals, as it contributes to healthy caloric degradation;
– Regularization of appetite while controlling the nature and quantity of food consumed during the day;
– Weight control and eviction of intense hunger during the day;
– The encouragement of reflective activity, which contributes to the improvement of learning abilities and memory functions in students.
Sources for the Article the Importance of Breakfast:
(1*) Rampersaud GC. Benefits of Breakfast for Children and Adolescents: Update and Recommendations for Practitioners. Am J Lifestyle Med 2009; 3(2) : 86-103.
(2*) US Department of Agriculture and US Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. 7th edition. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 2010; 1-122.
(3*) Nicklas TA, Bao W, Webber LS, Berenson GS. Breakfast consumption affects the adequacy of total daily intake in children. J Am Diet Assoc 1993; 93(8): 886-891.
(4*) Wyatt HR, Grunwald GK, Mosca CL, et al. Long-term weight loss and breakfast in subjects in the National Weight Control Registry. Obes Res, 2002; 10(2) : 78-82.
(5*) Sondage IFOP-ANPP – mars 2011.
(6*) Sandercock GRH et al. Associations between habitual school-day breakfast consumption, body mass index, physical activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness in English schoolchildren. Eur J Clin Nutr 2010;64:1086-1092.