Best Foods For Breakfast
Smell of coffee is unreal in the morning.. French have jam, honey and butter added to fresh bread in breakfast, maybe a glass of juice and some dairy. Is this healthy enough? What are the best foods for breakfast?
English on the other hand have scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon while Scandinavians also have fish and salmon and other animal sources of protein. Most cultures actually have protein for breakfast, not just the English and it has its advantages:
To make sure you are motivated and your brain is stimulated, your body produces dopamine neurotransmitter in the morning, which acts like your ‘starter’ to wake up and get going and carry on throughout the day. Dopamine is synthesized directly from an amino acid found in animal protein tyrosine.
This is why the consumption of one or two eggs – preferably in the shell to preserve their nutritional value and promote their healthy digestion – and / or other sources of animal protein like ham, yogurt, cheese or for the brave ones having maybe salmon or fish as the Scandinavians is the ideal food choice to increase motivation and alertness in the morning.
The presence of protein from animal sources, often along with some fat, reduces the rate of absorption of carbohydrate foods consumed at breakfast, by increasing the time of digestion and reducing the glycemic index of these foods. The peak of insulin secretion by the body is smaller and as a result, alertness is improved in the morning.
Protein in your diet among other things, will also fill you up quicker and keep you full longer- better satiety and will contribute to better control of your weight and allow you to avoid eating simple carbohydrates high in glycemic index throughout the day.
I can imagine many of you will say you have no time to prepare these foods in the morning and you probably don’t have much time before work but you can always try.. You could at least prepare something the night before and see how much better you will start feeling in the mornings. Come on, you all enjoy those beautiful breakfasts at hotels on holidays or even on Sundays with family, so why not do a little bit of it during the week as well? Boiling or frying eggs (in little oil) will only take a couple of minutes of your time after all.
Egg not only has the ideal amino acid profile, it is also rich in A, D, E and B vitamins, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, carotenoid antioxidants- lutein, zeaxanthin to fight against free radicals that cause diseases, macular degeneration and cataracts, choline- essential for the functioning of the brain. And cholesterol is not an issue to not consume eggs, eating eggs or an egg a day for breakfast would not increase the total blood cholesterol, unlike consumption at night- as the key enzyme of cholesterol metabolism- HMGCoA reductase has the maximum activity in early mornings.
Choose low or medium glycemic index carbohydrate foods and in moderation: Low sugar high fibre cereal, sourdough bread, wholemeal bread, rye bread, traditional muesli- not the crispy variety high in sugar and fats, baked beans- low or no sugar. Limit high glycemic index carbs such as white bread, processed products like biscuits and crackers, jam and honey in moderation as they are very high in sugar.
Prefer the whole fruit to the juice as you will not have the fiber of orange, for instance, in a glass of juice but the juice of a few oranges, although it is high in vitamins it is also much higher in calories. Glycemic index value of an orange is lower- 35 than GI of the juice of an orange- 45.
Eat sufficient amounts of good quality healthy fats in breakfast. Your body needs the essential fatty acids to optimize your health including cardiovascular risks, neuronal degeneration and to effectively control the inflammatory mechanisms. Eat nuts- almonds, hazelnuts, pistachio nuts, walnuts or ground flax seeds to get enough of your Omega 3, to increase satiety at breakfast and also for your body to use them to provide energy throughout the day.
So butter can easily replace honey or jam without the risk of weight gain. The overall glycemic index of your breakfast will be even better . The consumption of fat foods like butter also helps to cover the needs of fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin A. Beware of Nutella type high sugar chocolate spreads that are high in trans fatty acids on your bread in the morning, choose the little or no sugar nut spreads instead.
As little time as you may have for breakfast, try spending a few extra minutes once and replace your high sugar cereal or jam on white bread breakfast with an egg, butter on wholemeal bread, whole fruit, nuts and tea. See the differences in how you feel: Satiety and appetite, mental alertness and overall well-being. You are going to see it is well worth it!
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