We have all heard it before, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Do we really know why, though? Instead of simply telling you that you need to eat breakfast, I have offered 5 benefits to starting your day with a nutritious meal.
- Become a Better Employee/Parent/Worker
- Breakfast eaters have improved memory, learning and problem solving skills, and concentration.
- Boost Your Energy
- The word breakfast means “break the fast.” Just as a campfire dies down during the night and needs more wood to burn again in the morning, the body needs food for energy and nutrients to function properly.
- Improve Your Nutritional Status
- Breakfast can help increase our intake of fiber, and vitamins and minerals such as B-vitamins, vitamin C, calcium and iron.
- If you skip breakfast you likely won’t make up the nutrients missed at breakfast later in the day.
- The Smart Way to a Healthy Body Weight
- Eating breakfast regularly is associated with healthy body weights.
- People who skip breakfast tend to eat larger meals at the end of the day and gain more weight than people who eat breakfast.
- Reduce Your Risk of Disease
- A high-fiber, low-fat breakfast, may help reduce risks of: heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer
Now you see why it’s important, so what should your breakfast consist of?
In each meal of the day, including breakfast, its always good to aim to have balance. A balanced meal has 3 basic components: Below is a basic guideline!
- A grain/starch – provides energy, fiber, B vitamins
- A source of protein – helps with regulating blood sugars, immunity and muscle repair
- A fruit and/or vegetable – provides antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals.
