Why You Need to Eat Breakfast
Starting your day with a meal that combines unprocessed or minimally processed grains (oats, Muesli, quinoa) and protein (Greek yogurt, eggs) improves overall health and your ability to lose weight. Here’s why: Eating breakfast sets your body up to better metabolize lunch through a phenomenon known as the second meal effect. The second meal effect describes a biochemical shift that occurs in your body as a result of eating breakfast that leads to better blood sugar control after lunch. This doesn’t happen when you skip your morning meal. But simply eating breakfast isn’t enough.
What You Should Eat for Breakfast
Most traditional breakfast foods are high in carbohydrates/sugar, low in fat, and low in protein (i.e. a bowl of cereal). If you improve the overall nutritional quality of your breakfast, you’ll reap benefits beyond just the second meal effect. Here’s your simple plan to makeover the morning meal:
1. Improve the quality of carbohydrates you’re eating for breakfast. The Cereal F.A.C.T.S. 2012 report recently released from the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity found that 63 percent of the cereals in commercials viewed by adults have a sugar content higher than 20 percent. Opt for the lower sugar, high fiber, minimally processed breakfast grains (oats, sprouted grain cereals, etc.) for better focus and mental performance throughout the morning.
2. Add protein. Having protein-rich meals throughout the day is a key strategy in maintaining calorie-burning muscles. Plus, one study found that breakfast was the only meal of the day in which increased protein helped in satiety and fullness. Make sure your breakfast contains protein-rich foods like eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, or a protein shake to reap these two metabolic advantages.
No comments:
Post a Comment