Breakfast: The Most Misunderstood Meal Of The Day
Thanks to slick advertising, breakfast is a meal that is very defined in the minds of most people. The mere mention of the word conjures up images of toast, cereal and juice which, on closer inspection, are not the best ways to start one’s day. Read on to find out why.
The rise in popularity of processed breakfast products in the standard Western diet can be traced back to two main events in history - the advent of agriculture and the Industrial Revolution.
For most of human history, our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate - and thrived on - an incredibly diverse, nutrient-dense diet. This changed when their descendants put down roots and began to grow a limited range of crops (mainly grains) that had long shelf lives and were convenient to transport. Living off the land in this new way, meant that carbohydrate intake soared as both protein intake and quality reached an all-time low. Less bioavailable (or readily absorbed) proteins from legumes took the place of most animal proteins - a tendency that persists to this day.
The Industrial Revolution, on the other hand, provided the technological means to turn wheat into flour, rice and corn into boxed cereal and whole fruits into juice. It also led to the creation of companies and ever longer working hours for the workforce, thus creating the need for convenient - and highly processed - breakfast products.
It is important to note that the practice of processing is not necessarily unwise, provided the end result is nutritious. This is not the case with bread, breakfast cereals and juice, to name a few, which have to be synthetically fortified in an attempt to replace lost nutrients. It is this lack of nutrient density in general (and a lack of high-quality proteins in particular) that leads to mid-morning dips in energy, a yearning for true nourishment and repeated snacking as a result. Over time, this leads to a range of deficiencies, obesity and sub-optimal health. Interestingly, the most nutrient-dense foods happen to be offal, shellfish and red meat, all of which are often deemed detrimental to health.
Contrary to popular belief, humans do not thrive when they make grains - including those in a whole, unprocessed form - the foundation of their diet. In addition to their poor nutrient status, they contain substances - like phytic acid - which impair the uptake of what little nutrients they contain. Indigenous tribesmen painstakingly soaked, sprouted and fermented grains before consumption and studies now show that this ancient practice offers the best chance for nutrient absorption, however small this may be.
Finally, eating in this manner provokes an inflammatory response - an important factor in the development of disease.
Opinions on what constitutes a healthy breakfast template continue to differ, even among healthcare practitioners. The science is clear: making animal protein the star of your breakfasts is the key to feeling fuller for longer while meeting your nutritional needs.
What follows are my top tips for a strong start to your day:
Eat soon after rising. As a working mother, I know all too well how tempting it can be to put off breakfast until later. Having breakfast within an hour of waking will vastly improve your mood, put a spring in your step at the school gates and prevent your blood sugar from plummeting. Most importantly - done well - it replenishes amino acids that have been used up the night before for the maintenance and repair of vital organs. It is easy to forget that eating dinner in the early evening and then sleeping (which is, of course, a fasted state) means that our bodies have gone without food for up to 12 hours.
Batch cook. Make enough meals for a few days (or even a week) to avoid decision fatigue. Store individual servings in separate containers for convenience. This will also ensure that you eat soon after rising without too much hassle.
Track your macronutrients - at least in the very beginning. This is the key to feeling satisfied until your next main meal and, therefore, more energised and alert. It is a lot easier than it appears at first and there are many apps to help you do so, some of which are free - providing you stay away from the paid bells and whistles upgrades within. Protein is of the utmost importance and I recommend that you prioritise it over other nutrients. For optimal satiety, blood sugar stabilisation and muscle growth and maintenance, aim for 30-50g of animal protein. To put this into even greater context, 30g of animal protein provides 2.5g of the amino acid, leucine - the minimum amount required for muscle protein synthesis. Carbohydrates tend to be the most customisable macronutrient as needs vary from person to person. A Type 2 diabetic would do best on a low-carbohydrate regimen while a high-carbohydrate template is more appropriate for a person who does intensive strength training five days a week, for example. If you are generally in good health and happy with your weight, a moderate carbohydrate approach is best for most people. This works out at 100-200g a day for men eating 2600 calories and 75-150g for women eating 2000 calories. Starchy plants (like sweet or white potatoes, etc.) and fruit are great options. The remainder of your daily calories can then be allocated to healthy fats such as olive oil, avocados and nuts and seeds. Tracking how much of certain foods you need to eat to meet your macronutrient requirements for a week will help you get the hang of it so that you do not have to rely on apps long-term.
Keep it simple. It goes without saying that whole and minimally processed foods will serve you best. Processed foods are deliberately crafted to be hyperpalatable and, therefore, infinitely more enticing than anything you can whip up at home. The more enticing and hyperpalatable the food, the greater the likelihood of overindulging. Dietitian, Diana Rodgers, created a great meal template that I have adapted with her kind permission. It offers no less than ten thousand simple breakfast options and you can download it here.