Breakfast: The Importance of Eating a Good Breakfast

Overview
Eating a good breakfast provides all sorts of health benefits; it is important for your overall health, promotes mental alertness and keeps you energized so you can perform your best, both mentally and physically.

Eating a Good Breakfast Offers Many Health Benefits

Here are just a few of the health benefits you will enjoy when you eat a good breakfast.

Nutrition. After a long night without food, your body is in a state of nutritional deprivation. It must draw on the reserve of nutrients in your cells in order to continue functioning. Eating a good breakfast helps to maintain those reserves. A good breakfast provides the nutrients you need for healthy growth and development, as well. If you skip breakfast, chances are you may consume too many calories during the day without getting enough of the vitamins, minerals and other dietary essentials that you need for optimum health. Your breakfast should provide two-fifths to one-third of the nutrients you need for the day.  

Blood sugar. Your body literally goes into an overnight fast while you sleep. By the time you awaken, your blood sugar drops, which diminishes your energy level. A good breakfast restores your blood sugar and gives you the energy you need to get up and go. Try to eat foods that contain a mix of complex carbohydrates so that you get some fiber. Try to avoid consuming a lot of sugar that could send a rush of glucose into your bloodstream at once. 

Mental alertness. Your brain needs glucose (sugar) to function properly. During sleep, the level of glucose in your blood is lowered. As a result, your brain might not be getting enough. By eating a good breakfast, you are able to recharge your brain, in a manner of speaking, so that you can think clearly and perform other tasks efficiently throughout the morning hours. Eating a balanced breakfast of fruits and/or vegetables, whole grain bread or cereal and a good source of protein is key. Breakfast is also a good time to get some calcium in your diet from things like milk, cheese or yogurt.

Physical activity. Your muscles need glucose for optimum performance. But, like all the cells in your body, muscle cells must have other key nutrients present in order to metabolize or use the glucose you consume. So, eating a balanced breakfast that provides a variety of vitamins, minerals and other dietary essentials is important. Avoid drinking sodas or consuming cookies, chips and donuts or other sugary and/or high fat foods for breakfast, as these foods could actually impede your performance.

Weight control. Studies show that people who eat a good breakfast are more likely to control their weight than those who skip breakfast. One reason might be that when you eat a good breakfast, you are less likely to fill up on sodas, chips, donuts and other high-calorie, low nutrient foods that lead to unhealthy weight gain. Try to eat foods that are minimally processed and that are low in sugar, saturated fat and salt. Eating foods high in fiber, such as whole grains and nuts can help you to feel full longer, making it less likely that you will fill up on high fiber foods later in the morning.

Constipation. A good breakfast that includes whole grains and other high-fiber foods will help to improve gut function, move waste along your G.I. tract and out as waste. This will reduce the risk of constipation so that you can enjoy total health.

Summary

The bottom line is, you need to start your day by eating a good breakfast. This will help you to get some key nutrients, boost your metabolism, enhance both mental and physical activity, and may help you to lose weight if that is your goal.

Next blog: What to Eat for Breakfast 

Resources

Food for Your Brain

Your brain is the central processing unit for your body, and like the other tissues in your body, your brain depends on the foods you eat in order to get the nutrients it needs for optimal functioning. Yet, you probably never give a second thought to how the foods you eat affect your brain.

Studies show that mental function declines as people age. This decline often leads to diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Low levels of certain nutrients are found in people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In other cases, studies show that performance on memory tests and other functions requiring mental acuity may be diminished in people who have low levels of certain nutrients.

You can get the nutrients you need by making a special effort to eat brain foods everyday.

Fats

Omega-3 fats are unsaturated fatty acids that act as powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants protect your brain by binding with free radicals to prevent them from causing damage to your brain cells. Omega-3 fats are also used to build the myelin sheath that covers the nerve fibers in your brain.

You can get an abundance of omega-3 fats in your diet by eating oily fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, as well as nuts, including walnuts and almonds, and vegetable oils such as flaxseed oil and canola oil.

Eggs

Eggs contain choline, a B vitamin that your brain uses to produce a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter helps brain cells to transmit or pass information on, from one neuron to another.

Sugar

Sugar is the main source of energy for your brain. The best way to get sugar into your brain is to eat complex carbohydrates, in the form of starches. These starches broken down to sugar molecules, but since it takes longer for starches to be digested and absorbed that sugar, you are less likely to experience a sugar ‘high’ followed by a ‘crash’ caused by rapid highs and lows in your blood sugar. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good sources of complex carbohydrates.

Green Tea

Green tea contains polyphenols, which are antioxidant compounds that capture free radicals and prevent them from causing damage to healthy brain cells.

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, collard greens and turnip greens supply the brain with folic acid (folate), a B vitamin that is essential for the development of healthy brain tissue.

Fruits

Fruits, such as blueberries, grapes and apples are loaded with flavonoids. Flavonoids are antioxidants that bind free radicals in your brain to protect your brain cells from being damaged by free radicals.

Other Brain Foods

A few other foods that are rich in antioxidants and offer protection for your brain are chocolate, whole grains, turmeric, onion, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli.

Meat, seafood, eggs, dairy and soy also promote brain health by supplying two essential amino acids, tryptophan and tyrosine. These amino acids are used to make neurotransmitters, which allow your brain cells to communicate with each other.

Antioxidant Vitamins

Beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E are antioxidant vitamins that help to protect your brain from free radicals. by binding free, rendering them incapable causing damage to brain the brain cells. Additionally, vitamin C is used to make neurotransmitters, which allow your brain cells to send messages back and forth. Vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 are other vitamins that play a vital role in protecting nerve tissue and enhancing brain function.

A healthy brain requires a healthy diet that provides the nutrients your brain needs to prevent oxidative damage and promote proper functioning of the neurons. Lack of these vital nutrients can lead to poor brain function, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other manifestations of brain dysfunction. On the other hand, a diet rich in these foods will help to improve brain function

About the Author

Dr. Dorene E. Carter is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant with over 25 years of experience in teaching, counseling, training, project development and writing. Dr. Carter earned her PhD in nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley and is currently President & CEO of CHANA Project, the Child Health and Nutrition Access Project.