To “break-fast” means to break the fast of the
night-to put food into your body to start your day. Do you ever go eight or
nine hours during the day without eating? Probably not, but that’s exactly what
you do when you’re sleeping. Your body continues to move throughout the night
(an average of forty times), your metabolic processes continue, and you rebuild
cells that are old or damaged. You may not be as active as you are during the
day, but don’t be fooled into thinking that your body does nothing at night.
After your dinner is all digested, your blood-sugar
levels are balanced, as they should be. Then, over time, they begin to fall,
just as they do between meals during the day. By morning, the fuel value of
your dinner is all used up and your body is running on empty. When your body
doesn’t receive food for a number of hours, your metabolism slows down to
conserve energy.
You may not
feel hungry in the morning-it’s been so long since you ate that your body
interprets the situation as “no food available,” and your metabolism slows
down. You know what that means-your body starts to store calories instead of
burning them, and it stores them in the form of fat. But eating breakfast in
the morning signals your body that there is
food available, and that it’s okay to start using the food for energy. Your
metabolism goes back up, and you start to burn calories rather than store them.
This is why, if you want to lose weight, eating breakfast is so important: A
fresh supply of food signals your body that it’s okay to burn calories.
Breakfast is also important for producing energy in the morning. You wouldn’t
expect your car to run without gas; why would you expect your body to run
without food?
When it comes to breakfast, there are two kinds of
people: those who love that first meal of the day and those who can’t imagine
eating in the morning. Regardless of which type you are, or whether you have a
light diet shake or a full breakfast, your first meal of the day should produce
a steady supply of energy and stay with you for a few hours. That means your
first meal of the day should be a balance of protein and carbohydrates. Coffee
and soda do not count as breakfast foods. Nor do sugar and caffeine, which give
you a false start; the energy they produce wears off before long lunch.
If you’re hungry in the morning, you enjoy breakfast,
and you have the time, an elaborate meal of organic whole-grain waffles (easy
on the sweet syrup!) and soy sausages is ideal. Eggs and toast are also a
balanced meal of carbohydrates and protein, as are eggs and fruit or potatoes,
pancakes and bacon (or a soy substitute for bacon), or muffins served with
yogurt or cheese.
We’re programmed to eat cereal, toast, juice, and
milk for breakfast, but those don’t add up to a great morning meal-they’re all
carbohydrates with very little protein. In many parts of the world, fish,
grains, meats, and vegetables are featured for the first meal of the day, and
these constitute a more balanced meal. On a recent trip to Hawai’i, I stayed in
a resort that caters to tourists from Japan. Their breakfast buffet included
fish and rice (balanced protein and carbohydrate), a deliciously different way
to start the day. You don’t have to limit breakfast choices to “breakfast”
foods. If you really enjoy carbohydrates such as cereal, toast, or a low-fat,
totally organic (of course) whole-grain muffin for breakfast, have a glass of
soy milk to add protein to the meal, or a glass of water with protein powder.
If you’re one of the many who have a hard time eating
in the morning, my advice is to at least drink a small glass of juice with
protein powder. Better yet, have a protein shake;
it’s quick, easy, loaded with nutritional value, and tastes great. And it’s not
at all heavy, so you won’t feel as if you ate a big breakfast. This is also a
good choice for those of you who have little time in which to get up and off to
work or school in the mornings. Another good choice if you’re in a hurry is a
protein bar.
You’ve
probably seen TV commercials depicting a loving parent sending a child off to
school with a toaster pastry for breakfast. This is a terrible thing to do to a
child. To encourage a child to eat white flour and sugar for breakfast is to
set up that child for obesity. If the kids are running late, give them a couple
of protein bars: one for breakfast, one for a mid-morning snack. Studies show
that children who eat breakfast have higher grades than those who don’t. Your
brain is like the rest of your body: In order to function properly, it needs
food.
Further Reading
A Real
American Breakfast, by Cheryl Alters Jamison
Laurel’s
Kitchen, by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey
The
Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham
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