This is from the “always nice to see your ideas come out of other people” department. I am a big believer in starting the day with a big nutritious breakfast. Harvard’s HEALTHbeat publication agrees.
“If you miss the day’s first meal, notes Dr. David S. Ludwig, a nutrition expert at Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital Boston, you may start off with an energy deficit and have to tap into your energy reserves.”
Amen, Dr. Ludwig.
HEALTHbeat says to include healthful protein, slowly digested carbs and some fruit or vegetables.
Here are their four tips for creating an energy boosting breakfast:
1. Choose whole grains. High-fiber, whole-grain cereals and breads can help keep your blood sugar on an even keel and avoid a midmorning energy crash. With the hundreds of types of cereal on the market, bran cereal, bran flakes, and steel-cut oatmeal are typically the healthiest bets. To choose the healthiest breakfast cereal, read the label and look for:
• 5 grams or more of fiber per serving
• less than 300 milligrams of sodium per serving
• less than 5 grams of sugar per serving
• whole grain as the first item on the ingredient list
2. Include protein. Yogurt is a good choice; Greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt. Eggs (up to one a day) are okay for healthy people. Although yolks are high in cholesterol, eggs have proteins, vitamins, and other nutrients and don’t appear to increase the risk for developing heart disease.
You might also include foods that have healthful fats such as those in nuts or salmon. Limit processed meats to the occasional treat as these foods are associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
3. Eat in, not out. You can enjoy a healthful breakfast out if you stick to oatmeal. But much of the traditional fare will start your day with loads of refined carbohydrates and saturated fat. Like most processed food, the breakfast offerings from fast-food chains tend to be high-sodium, low-fiber disasters.
4. Blend up a breakfast smoothie. Combine fruit, juice, yogurt, wheat germ, tofu, and other ingredients. Toss them in your blender with a bit of ice and you have a refreshing, high energy breakfast.
I concoct a breakfast smoothie every morning in my Vita-Mix machine with strawberries, blueberries, banana and this week I started adding green veggies like kale and spinach.
These four tips are part of a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School – Boosting Your Energy.
Tony
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