Why is Breakfast the Most Important Meal?

It is morning. You have just woken up. Your body has been without food for at least 8 hours. Your system needs fuel, water and nutrients in order to function effectively throughout the day. Would you ever purposefully drive to work with hardly any fuel in your car? No, and in this respect your body is exactly the same.

Skipping breakfast is the worst thing you can do nutritionally, it really is. Even if you are overweight, breakfast is absolutely essential. In fact, if you skip an important meal like breakfast, you will feel so hungry later on in the day you will be far more likely to over-eat then.

But what types of foods should we eat for breakfast? Well, a lot of people make the mistake of going for sugar and stimulants. Jam (jelly) on white toast washed down with coffee are common choices, but these are bad as they overstimulate us, causing a rapid rise in blood glucose levels followed later by a crash. It is like putting rocket fuel in your car instead of the correct fuel. Sure, you are going to shoot off at a heck of a speed, but you will be out of control and you will crash.

The best food to eat at breakfast is a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein, for example a large bowl of porridge oats (complex carbohydrate) with nuts (protein) and maybe some chopped apple or goji berries to sweeten. Starting the day in this way will really set you up, both physically and mentally, giving you not only sustained physical energy but also mental alertness

So, to summarize:

• Our bodies need fuel to function
• Never skip breakfast
• Avoid sugar & stimulants (toast, jam & coffee)
• Eat complex carbohydrates with protein (porridge and nuts) for sustained energy.