The advantages of a healthy and nutritious breakfast:
After a good night's sleep and with an empty stomach in the morning, it makes sense that the best way to start the day and to energize and revitalize your body, is with a filling, nutritious and healthy breakfast that will keep you satiated until the next meal.
Our body needs a healthy breakfast packed full of vitamins and nutrients whilst also providing energy and fuel for the brain.
The best types of foods to be eaten at breakfast are complex carbohydrates such as whole grains including oats, rye bread and millet together with a small amount of dried fruit and freshly squeezed juice.
These foods have a low GI (glycaemic index), which means that they release glucose steadily and slowly into the bloodstream, unlike the unhealthier breakfast choices mentioned earlier. Consequently, these foods will keep you fuller for longer, prevent unhealthy snacking, keep energy levels steady without dipping and provide you with essential vitamins and minerals that may be missed at other meals.
Many people like to consume some form of protein in the morning, as protein balances blood sugar levels and recent studies have also proven that concentration levels are enhanced if some form of protein in consumed during the breakfast meal.
Excellent sources of protein, which can be incorporated into the breakfast meal are eggs, fish, nuts and seeds. Eggs are a particularly rich source of choline (B vitamin), which the body converts into acetyl-choline, a neurotransmitter found in the brain.
Studies show that adults and children who eat breakfast in the morning perform better at school and at work. It is proven that with breakfast, concentration and memory improve, mental performance and problem-solving ability is better and learning ability is increased.
Not only this but studies generally prove that most people who eat breakfast manage their weight better, are not obese or overweight, have lower levels of cholesterol, which means they are less likely to suffer from heart disease and are generally in better health overall, not to mention in better mood.