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Feature Articles: Eating Well
Why Breakfast?Janet Hackert, Regional Nutrition and Health
Education Specialist, |
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It is common knowledge that breakfast is the meal that ‘breaks
the fast’ after 8-12 hours of not eating through the night. And
most have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the
day. But then we may ask ourselves, why? What’s the big deal
about breakfast?
Eating breakfast helps both adults and children to pay better
attention and improves mental performance. People who eat a
healthy breakfast are more likely to get all the nutrients they
need in a day to feel good and be healthy. Eating breakfast can
also keep us from overeating later in the day.
The best breakfast is a combination of foods from the milk or
meat group, from the fruit or vegetable group and of course
something from the grain group. This mix of food groups also
means a mix of nutrients, nutrients that release their energy
over differing lengths of time. As a result, the breakfast
eater’s blood sugar level is sustained at a functional level for
several hours, postponing the symptoms of hunger. Breakfast
skippers, on the other hand, find themselves getting hungry
sooner in their day. Often this is at a time when access to a
variety of healthy foods is not very available. Then one of two
things can happen: their hunger overwhelms them and they grab
whatever is available, say a candy bar from a vending machine;
or they put off eating even longer and end up eating more than
they really wanted or needed at the next meal.
Eating breakfast is important no matter what time a person starts the day. If there is time for a leisurely sit-down breakfast, great. If not, there are lots of quick and simple ways to break the fast. If breakfast is not your thing, you might start out by trying something simple – a glass of milk, a piece of fruit, or a slice of toast. For those who are on-the-go in the morning, a zipper bag of dry cereal, dried fruit and maybe some nuts or sunflower seeds makes a convenient and portable meal. Peanut butter or cheese on crackers and a piece of fresh fruit or baby carrots makes a handy meal ‘to-go’. Think ‘variety of food groups’ and see what you come up with for you.
Last update: Tuesday, September 26, 2006
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