Breakfast and our health

As my mother used to say when we were in a small city in 1990s “Your breakfast is very important for a good day”. The roti, sabji or idli or poha that we used to feast when we were adolescents is almost an outdated start by current standards. However the garlic bread, bread butter, biscuits, puffs and coffee that is a current standard breakfast in today’s running world is no better either. What is the significance of breakfast and how can you design your breakfast recipes that are healthful, convenient, and tasty?

Morning metabolism

Our body needs energy 24 x 7 and our metabolism keeps a nearly stable stock of energy whether we are eating or not. Since our brain cannot store any energy, it has to depend up on constant supply of sugar (glucose) flowing in your blood. The food we eat is digested in our intestines; proteins carbohydrates and fats are broken down into minor fragments and are absorbed into the bloodstream. The uptake of glucose raises the blood sugar level, and insulin is secreted in pancreas. It is the insulin that powers our body’s metabolism by allowing the glucose to enter cells. The excess glucose which is not burned is converted into glycogen and is stored in liver and muscles to meet future energy demands. However our body can stock only a small portion of glycogen; Balance of excess glucose is converted into fats and is soaked into body’s fat deposits. Our body does not store excess protein and carbs, it alters it into fat.

When we are not eating food, our metabolism performs reverse function. Your liver not only alters glycogen into glucose but also secretes additional glucose to maintain our blood glucose levels nearly stable. Still if you need more energy, fatty acids are released from your body that can be burned to produce energy instead of carbohydrates. Since protein we eat is utilised to perform growth and repair functions of our body they are not utilised for a short time of energy scarcity. However in a real famine, the body even burns protein to produce energy that is cannot get any other way.

A gap of 10 or 12 hours between yesterday’s dinner and today’s breakfast is barely a famine, but it is enough to put body metabolism into an energy organizing mode. Our first food of the days hence is important as it helps the energy flow back into storage, hence it is essential to do it right.

Configurations, not perfection

There is nothing called “perfect food” or “a perfect meal”. There is surely however a dietary configuration that is paramount for health. A study carried out in Harvard with more than 50000 participants to establish the health benefits of “Good Configuration”  described by a high intake of whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, , fish, and poultry, over a “Western configuration,” which included refined grains, sweets, high fat dairy products, ,processed meat, red meat, and fries. The results were mere formalities: Those men who followed Good Configuration diet had a much reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease over the men who took a typical 21st-century Western diet.

Our diet should be practical but not disciplinary or even boring. Include a wide variety of foods and try with new ones. 20-25% of our daily required energy only shall come from fats. So keep fat consumption modest by decreasing your intake of saturated fat from dairy products, meat, fried foods, and snacks. However add nuts, fish which are rich omega 3 fats and olive oil which contains monounsaturated fats. Avoid simple sugar and simple carbs as they are rapidly absorbed into the blood stream and raises blood sugar. On the other hand add enough complex carbs that takes time to get absorbed. The total intake of carbohydrates shall be 50%–65% of body’s daily energy needs. Include foods that give at least 28 to 30 grams dietary fiber in a day. The daily intake of protein shall be restricted to 15% of your total energy needs.

How can breakfast fit into this healthy configuration? Breakfast is the greatest time to get complex carbs and dietary fiber. Actually, if you start at breakfast, you will find it hard or even impossible, to your daily dose of fiber you need even though vegetables and, beans are excellent breakfast foods.

Not suggested

To include eggs in the breakfast is a little debatable as it also contains cholesterol. However foods such as doughnuts, fried potatoes have too much fat. Processed meats, processed butter also has too much fat and salt. And the cutlets, batata vada, mirchi bhaji, samosa, and McBreakfasts at your nearby fast food stall has too much of everything other than dietary fiber.

Breakfast connection with belly fat

Many people are so obsessed with weight loss that they even think that avoiding meals is their answer for how to lose weight naturally. It is not true, particularly if you are skipping your first meal, i.e. breakfast. Following are some findings from some studies across the globe

·         A study of more than 16,000 American adults concluded that breakfast eaters were slimmer than those who used to skip breakfast and people who designed their breakfast recipes around whole grain cereals were thinner than adults who took meat or eggs.

·         A study on more than 2,800 young adults found that that people who take breakfast regularly were only has 50% probability of getting  be obese than breakfast skippers.

·         A smaller study in Massachusetts concluded that avoiding breakfast is associated with a fourfold rise in obesity risk.

·         Taking breakfast at home was obviously more advantageous than eating out.

Begin right

Breakfast is “the most essential meal of the day. A good breakfast perhaps will not boost your cerebral activities, but will certainly help you to lose weight naturally. If you include high fiber, whole grain cereal in breakfast recipes. This will further reduce your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Above all, maybe, a good breakfast is a perfect way to go for healthful diet. Try different breakfast food until you find a nutritious breakfast which is tasty also. And if you begin right and stay healthy, you can much those fatty foods from time to time. However like other, you’ll progressively lose your desire for samosa or burger.