Eat Healthy Live Happy: Why is it important to have a healthy breakfast? What is the healthy breakfast criteria?

Thursday 4 January 2018

Why is it important to have a healthy breakfast? What is the healthy breakfast criteria?

Breakfast is important because it literally breaks a fast; the overnight fast. Eating a healthy breakfast supplies our bodies with essential nutrients that help keep energy level up throughout the day.

However, we live in a fast paced life, most people eat in a rush or skip their meal.

What will happen when we skip breakfast?
1) Gain Weight
2) Fatigue
3) Not able to concentrate
4) Lack of Energy
5) Raise the risk of heart disease
6) Decrease in metabolism
7) Increase the risk of diabetes

5 Reasons Why Breakfast Is Important

Is the below food a good choice for breakfast?

We should avoid eating smoked or cured meats. Ham, bacon and sausage may contain sodium nitrate, which is converted by your body into a cancer-causing agent. Other examples of food to avoid are salami, prosciutto, deli meat and char siu.

Reduce the intake of animal-based foods like fried eggs, cheese, butter and milk as they are high in fat and cholesterol contents are increase the risk of heart disease.

Refrain from eating high calorie foods as it contribute to weight gain and obesity. Avoid foods like hash brown, croissant, youtiao, deep fried bun, scallion pancake and jian bing.

Is drinking fruit juices as healthy as eating whole fruits?

Fruit juices are not as nutritious as fruits in their original forms. Fruits contain many beneficial nutrients, such as dietary fiber, that are stored in their skins and pulps. But the skin and pulp are often removed during the juicing process. By extracting juice from fruits, we get a substance that is rich in fructose and stripped of fiber. This means that we take in more calories when drinking fruit juice compared to eating whole fruits.

What is the healthy breakfast criteria?

1) High in dietary fiber - Psyllium husk
2) Soy - high in plant protein, 2 times protein in meat, 3 times protein in eggs and 12 times proteins in cow's milk
3) Wide variety of fruits and vegetables of different colors.