Healthy Breakfasts

We have all heard the term “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” at one time or another.

It has been drilled into us by our mothers, fathers, and teachers since childhood, and even though approaches such as Intermittent Fasting work well for certain individual goals, a good, hearty breakfast still has its place among one of the best ways to start your day. When consuming a good breakfast consistently, we may start to notice:

• Less body fat
• Increased muscle and strength
• Less chronic disease
• Improved cognitive function
• Improved mood and energy
• Better food choices later in the day
• Lower cholesterol
• Improved digestion
• Balanced blood sugars

SO, WHAT IS THE PERFECT BREAKFAST?

The reality is there is no such thing as the “perfect breakfast.” Ultimately it comes down to so many variables which are completely individual to you, such as goals, age, gender, culture, activity level, health, intolerances, current eating habits that differ greatly from one person to another.

Having said that, I do feel that there are some key components that should be addressed in anyone’s breakfast choice when aiming to live a healthy, happy and active life:

Digestion: Digestive health says a lot about overall health. Low energy, brain fog, anxiety, depression and stalling weight loss can all be due to poor digestive health. In the morning you need to make sure that you are giving your body a full range of nutrients that are going to have a positive impact on your gut health and digestion. Ideally, we should consume some form of dietary fibre such as oats and flax seeds as a great combination, as well as adding berries to your morning meal. I would also consider incorporating probiotic and digestive enzyme-based supplements as well.

Kickstart Muscle Retention/Gain: Another focus of your breakfast should be Amino Acid Pool Replenishment. After sleeping, your amino acid pools are likely to be depleted due to the length of time between meals. Therefore, you need to replenish them to promote muscle retention/gain (anabolism) and reduce the risk of muscle loss (catabolism). This is where protein is needed. Egg whites and isolate whey protein are a great example of a fast digesting, extremely high bioavailable protein.

Slow Energy Release: Steady, slow energy release from carbohydrates and healthy fats is a key component when building a healthy breakfast. Once again, oats would be a great choice due to their natural abundance of these macronutrients, carbohydrates more so, but oats do contain some fat which is often overlooked. Adding some natural almond butter can also help provide a new healthy fat dimension, further aiding a controlled, steady release of energy. Organic whole eggs and/oily fish are also some great choices when looking to include some essential fatty acids.

Breakfast really can be an endless array of options when you know what you are aiming to achieve. Some things should be a constant for breakfast, and all meals for that matter. Eat every meal slowly and mindfully, eating whole foods with little to no processing. There is no magic breakfast that will get you where you need to go, it just needs to be sustainable. The greatest diet is the one you can stick to for the longest!

RECIPES

• 150-250g Greek Yoghurt, handful of berries
• Protein Smoothie – 1 to 2 scoops of flavoured protein powder (fruit flavour recommended), a fist of spinach, handful of berries, half a banana, teaspoon of chia seeds, almond milk
• 2-3 medium size eggs, 100g smoked salmon, fist of watercress, 1-2 slices of sourdough toast
• 50g oats, 1-2 scoops of flavoured protein powder, handful of berries, teaspoon of natural almond butter