Breakfast… yes or no?
Is Breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Yes. And, no.
‘You can’t go to school on an empty stomach!’
‘Eat something before you go to work!’
‘Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!’
You’ve heard these phrases over and over. But, is breakfast really the most important meal of the day?
Yes. And no.
Breakfast (a meal you eat within 1 hour of waking up in the morning) is not essential. There is increasing evidence that skipping breakfast now and then as part of an intermittent fasting regimen has many potential health benefits, from weight loss to increased concentration, to better gut health, and lower inflammation. You don’t NEED to eat immediately when you wake up in the morning. In fact, you don’t NEED to eat in the morning at all.
‘Break-fast’, not ‘Breakfast’ is the most important meal of the day
Your ‘break-fast’ meal, which is the meal you have after a period of fasting, regardless of the time of the day IS the most important meal of your day. So, if your first meal of the day is lunch or even dinner, then that is your ‘break-fast’ meal. And yes… it is essential to get that meal right.
After you have been fasting for a period of time (especially if your last meal was more than 12 hours ago), you have depleted your stores of glucose and your body is likely to be using fats for energy. This is a very efficient metabolic state to be in. It’s called ‘Ketosis’.
What is ‘Ketosis’?
Ketosis happens when your body uses fat for energy instead of sugar. Ketones are energy-containing molecules that are released when fats are metabolized.
Ketosis is a more efficient physiological state for weight loss because you can’t lose fat unless you actually break down the stores of fat in your body. Logical.
Ketosis is also great to combat ageing and reduce inflammation because sugar molecules are responsible for a process of glycation – which speeds up ageing and tissue inflammation. With little-to-no-sugar around, ageing and inflammation don’t happen.
Ketosis can only be triggered when there is no insulin present in your bloodstream. Insulin is released as soon as sugars are absorbed into your blood after you eat something. Insulin is the hormone that pushes glucose out of your blood into your body cells where it can be used for energy or converted to fat and put into storage.
If you eat a meal that contains foods which trigger release of insulin into your blood, you will immediately switch off ketosis and revert back to using glucose for energy.
So, the composition of your ‘break-fast’ meal is critically important to maintain ketosis for as long as possible… if you want to benefit from the weight management, anti-ageing, anti-inflammation and energy-efficiency effects of ketosis.
How should you plan your ‘break-fast’ meal?
Make sure that your ‘break-fast’ contains plenty of vitamin-packed vegetables, good quality proteins and healthy fats to ensure your metabolism remains optimised for the rest of the day. Having a ‘break-fast’ meal that is high in sugars, unhealthy fats and processed ingredients will derail your metabolism and make you feel heavy and bloated – you will also become hungry very quickly after eating.
The optimal balance of nutrients for ‘break-fast’ is:
- Vegetables – at least 50% of your plate
Good examples include: leafy greens, broccoli, cabbage, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, leeks, cauliflower, aubergine/eggplant. Preferably not starchy vegetables like squash, pumpkin or butternut.
- Proteins – at least 25% of your plate
Examples: Eggs, meat, chicken, fish, dairy products like cheese or yoghurt, high-protein pulses like lentils, chickpeas and dried beans, soy products like edamame beans and tofu.
- Healthy fats – at least 20% of your plate
Options include: Avocado, olives and olive oil, nuts, nut butters and seeds, coconut and coconut oil, dark chocolate (as long as its more than 70% cocoa solids).
- Carbohydrates – less than 10% of your plate
Choose unrefined carbs like: Quinoa, spelt, oats, buckwheat, bulgur, wild or red rice, other whole grains, baby potatoes and sweet potato or other starchy vegetables like squash.
If you include carbohydrates in your ‘break-fast’ meal, ensure they are unrefined, unprocessed and low-GI carbohydrates. And make sure that they don’t contribute more than 10% of the volume or calories of your meal.
What about cereal?
Cereal, in whatever shape or form is NOT a good ‘break-fast’ food. Corn Flakes are almost 100% carbohydrate, sugar-packed cereals like Coco Pops and Cheerios are even worse because they are highly refined and contain loads of refined sugars which immediately flood your system and trigger masses of insulin to be released. Processed cereals are highly inflammatory and dangerous to your metabolism.
Even ‘healthy’ options like granola and oatmeal are predominantly carbohydrate-based foods. They will stimulate insulin-release which will stop ketosis and within hours of eating a generous helping of cereal, you are hungry for more. If you love muesli or granola for breakfast, it is best to make your own or find a low-carbohydrate version that you can bulk up with nuts, seeds and perhaps some coconut shavings, and eat with plain greek yoghurt to create a more optimal and balanced ‘break-fast’ dish.
Here is a recipe for Trail Mix, which makes a great substitute for granola:
TRAIL MIX:
Ingredients:
2 cups raw unsalted almonds
1/2 cup each of raw and unsalted nuts: Cashew nuts, hazel nuts, brazil nuts and pecan nuts
1 cup of mixed seeds: Flax seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds
1 cup of flaked unsweetened coconut
½ cup dried fruit of your choice (must not have any added sugar): chopped dates, goji berries, dried cherries, raisins or sultanas, peaches, apples or nectarines etc
1 cup 70% dark chocolate chips (optional, for extra indulgence)
Method:
- Mix all ingredients together until well-combined.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months – although the container will be empty long before the 3 months is up!
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