There are many known benefits to regularly eating a healthy breakfast, including:
- Improved cognitive function to facilitate learning and retention.
- Positive nutrient timing to help prevent episodes of binge eating.
- Increasingly active metabolism and stable blood sugar to promote fat burn and weight loss.
Not to mention the improvements in mood and emotional stability that a well nourished body will create. Undoubtedly a win-win-win-win!
But the good news about breakfast doesn’t end there. According to The American Heart Association, regularly eating breakfast greatly reduces the risk for coronary heart disease by close to 27%. According to the study’s lead author, Leah Cahill Ph.D., “Skipping breakfast may lead to one or more risk factors, including obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, which may in turn lead to a heart attack over time.” The reported heart disease risk factors include more smoking and drinking, less physical activity and the habit of eating late in the evening. Not only can a good breakfast improve your mood, your metabolism, you can also help avoid heart disease!
So, what should you be eating for breakfast? Well, that is highly dependent on the lifestyle you maintain and which foods work best for your body, but a few options to experiment with are:
- Oats, which are help promote decrease in total and LDL, “bad”, cholesterol.
- Fruit and yogurt, which is high in vitamins and antioxidants to help eliminate inflammation and promote a positive blood pH while providing an extra bit of calcium and protein to keep you satisfied longer.
- Miso, an excellent source of high quality plant based protein to help promote muscle repair and growth.
Also, don’t hesitate to incorporate less traditional breakfast foods like vegetables and exotic grains into your morning routine as they can greatly improve your nutrient intake and health.
Here are a few recipe suggestions to get you started:
- Banana Oatmeal via Andrea Bertoli
- Superfood Acai Bowl again via Andrea Bertoli
- Magic Miso via yours truly Matthew Lovitt
Oh! And here are a few more quick breakfast recipes care of Vibrant Wellness Journal that will help keep you cool through dog days of summer.
There are many ways in which we can improve our health, but consistently eating a high quality breakfast may be the easiest and most beneficial step we can take to create a vibrant existence and to help reduce the risk of disease.
Oatmeal image courtesy of Andrea Bertoli; heart image from Shutterstock/Sebastian Kaulitzki
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