Why Breakfast?

Breakfast is exactly that, breaking the fast that began the previous night. In addition to whatever activities occur after dinner, the body continues to burn energy while you sleep.

Proper refueling in the morning is essential for optimal performance during the coming day. Remember, it has been many hours since your last meal. Many studies have shown that eating breakfast helps to improve both physical and mental performance. Adults are less likely to make mistakes at work and children do better in school after having eaten breakfast.

Breakfast is also another opportunity to consume much needed nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Studies have shown that children who skip breakfast do not make up during the day the nutrients they missed at breakfast.

When you skip breakfast, your body’s energy tank runs low. This causes cravings for sweets, usually far from nutritious. Skipping breakfast also may cause overeating at the next meal. And since you may crave sweets, your next meal may be high in sugar (and often in fat as well). In turn, overeating places undue stress on your body and can result in unwanted weight gain. Skipping breakfast has no benefits for weight loss.

What makes a good breakfast? Any foods that contribute to an overall balanced diet are fine; there are no rules. The key is to select a variety of foods from different food groups. Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal (stay away from the sugary varieties with their abundance of empty calories) or eggs or pancakes; it can be leftovers from last night’s dinner. Traditional breakfast foods are generally the easiest and quickest to prepare, but anything that would be a healthy lunch or dinner can also be a healthy breakfast and don't forget to take your daily multi-vitamin and mineral supplement to fill in any missing nutritional gaps.