Breakfast is considered to be a very significant meal as it breaks the long overnight fasting. A healthy breakfast refills the level of glucose in the body. It provides various other important nutrients to the body that helps in boosting the energy levels throughout the day. Breakfast starts the metabolic processes in the body.
It assists in burning calories and energizing a person. People who eat breakfast regularly are seen to have more productivity and focus at workplace or school. Let us know more about the benefits of breakfast and why it should be the prominent meal of the day.
What should be the ideal breakfast?
Being the most important meal, a breakfast should contain nutritious food items that gives you energy throughout the day. This will help you achieve optimal health. A breakfast has to be rich in protein, whole grain and fiber that makes it a complete breakfast. It will keep you fulfilled so that you can better focus on work and prevent unnecessary munching at shorter intervals.
A diet rich in protein will keep your metabolism up and give you a feeling of fullness for a longer duration. It is the best nutrient to avoid frequent cravings and temptations for unhealthy snacks.
Include carbs to fuel your body so that you don’t get exhaust before your next meal. Many breakfast items have a lot of carbohydrates in it. Whole-grains are the best choices for carbohydrate. These foods have plenty of the B vitamins, riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine that provide energy.
Your breakfast should comprise of soluble and insoluble fiber to aid in digestion. So, inclusion of freshly chopped fruits, vegetable juices and whole grains is advised to make it a complete meal. Experts suggest that the breakfast should be eaten within two hours from the time of waking up. It should be healthy enough to provide 20-35% calories of the daily allowance. Breakfast should be a good source of essential nutrients such as iron, B vitamins, protein, calcium, and fiber that nourishes the body.
Breaks the fast
Your body is empty for several hours right from the time you eat the last meal of the day to the time of the first meal. It becomes very important to fuel your body with proper nutrition that keeps your body running effectively during the day.
If your body fails to get these essential nutrients, then it is compensated later during the day. Vegetables and fruits serve as rich sources of minerals and vitamins so include good proportions of fruits in this meal.
You get fitter and attractive
People who eat healthy breakfast are seen to have a smaller waist, proper body weight and an attractive appearance. This is because when you miss this meal, you feel hungry. You look for foods to satiate your cravings for sweet products. Due to which you munch on fatty snacks and high sugar mid-morning.
Regular consumption of these foods can easily make you put on weight easily especially at the belly region. By eating low calorie and fiber rich breakfast, you can easily survive without any frequent cravings for food.
Improved Cognitive function
Breakfast helps in restoring or restocking glucose that gets depleted in the body during the day. It is an essential meal that is required by the body for the sound functioning of mental faculty of the body. Regular breakfast helps in the sound functioning of your brain. There are several studies that shows that breakfast helps in enhancing concentration and memory in a person.
It also makes one happier and peaceful. Breakfast uplifts mood and also reduce stress levels. As per the studies done on children, it has been found that children who used to have regular breakfast showed better improve achievement in studies. They were well behaved and secured better grades than those who missed this important meal.
Energizes your body
Like any other organ in the body, your brain requires regular release of energy to perform at its best. The requirement of energy varies on the basis of age and lifestyle of a person. A developing child requires more energy than a grown one. Similarly, men require more energy than women. Learn your daily requirement of energy and eat accordingly.
Better long-term health
By eating regular breakfast, your body shows long term benefits on health. It lowers the chances of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease in a person.
Conclusion
Thus, with these benefits it is quite clear that breakfast is the most vital meal of the day. Besides these advantages, breakfast also makes an excellent occasion for the entire family to eat together. Establishing healthy breakfast habits right from the childhood and maintaining it through the adolescence keeps you fit for the whole life.