Why Breakfast is so Important
Health experts have established that breakfast is the most important meal of the day in order to live a healthy life and recent research has shown that 1 in 2 mums are skipping it.
Some people may skip breakfast for various reasons such as being late for work or school, lack of time to prepare and take breakfast and some because they are watching their body weight.
Skipping breakfast as a strategy to help you lose weight is not a viable plan because the end result is that you are likely to gain more weight. Usually, the body behaves differently as you would probably expect. When the body senses conditions of starvation probably due to skipping breakfast, it will normally start to store fat as a reserve energy source in case the starvation conditions get worse.
So in the overall sense, you will gain weight when you starve in an attempt to lose it. Therefore, it will necessitate a mum to carefully choose the right and healthy kind of breakfast for both herself and her family to keep all family members in good state of health.
If you skip breakfast, you will feel hungry and exhausted early into the day. You will not only expose your body to health risks but also will most likely change how you normally operate because of the lack of enough energy to kick your day off. Similarly, long periods of starvation may hinder your insulin response capabilities leading to low sugar metabolism rates hence lead to weight gain due to excess sugar being converted to fats for storage. By starting the day with a health breakfast such as The Healthy Mummy Smoothie, you give your body energy and you stay physically active all day and you burn more calories.
If you have more time then making a museli with fresh fruits, oats and nuts is excellent and topping it with low fat greek yoghurt is a great alternative if you don’t want milk. Plus making omelettes with extra veggeis or scrambled/poached eggs with spinach and salmon is another great breakfast.
Research conducted has shown that people who eat a healthy breakfast have the tendency to eat better throughout the entire day as they will generally consume foods with low fat content and high in nutritional value. Most of the people who skip breakfast most times opt to later eat unhealthy junk foods that yield high calories and have high fat content leading to the development of unhealthy conditions in such individuals. Similarly, taking breakfast will curb binge eating later in the day as most people who skip breakfast have been found to over indulge in binge eating during the day.
The brain needs a lot of energy to be active and to achieve proper concentration. This energy is usually supplied from glucose that should be part breakfast.
Researchers have found that breakfast happens to be the single meal that covers a wide range of food products thus ensuring a balanced calorie and nutrients intake. This ranges from fruits, cereals, smoothies, milk, eggs, and whole grain toast. Incidentally, no other meal during the day can contain such a wide variety in the area of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals. Breakfast therefore contributes greatly to the proper daily nutrient intake of the body. Most experts in health matters advice that one should make sure that breakfast provide at least more than a quarter of the daily nutrient intake.
A good breakfast is the key to stay healthy as found by the latest medical research. Skipping breakfast upsets several body functions leading to destabilized blood sugar levels which lead to health conditions such diabetes, heart problems and obesity. Skipping breakfast also increases craving for food during the day which may lead to snacking later in the day.
Pregnant & Breastfeeding Mums
Breakfast is also important especially for breastfeeding and expectant mums to boost their energy and also their keeping their serotonin levels balanced. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter related to the mood of well being of women generally. Most women experience mood swings and it‘s serotonin that comes into play in influencing positive moods.
Breakfast then helps generate good amounts of serotonin for the woman to have a good mood throughout the day. A nursing mother should eat a health breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and a nutritious dinner. Most mothers will require vitamin B9 or folic acid found in green vegetables which can be part of a woman’s breakfast diet.
A mum should choose carefully the kind of food that she and her family should eat for breakfast. Research has shown that the type of breakfast you eat makes difference to weight loss. Certain foods such as doughnuts and fast foods are not smart choices. Instead, she should select a breakfast with protein and complex carbohydrates as they will keep the body supplied with energy for long periods.
A mum should choose breakfast foods that will keep her and her family members satisfied for longer periods. Proteins have been found to achieve this goal while the eating of bagels for breakfast has been found to cause one to eat more during the day in comparison to eating a rich protein containing breakfast.
The Healthy Mummy Smoothie contains a balanced amount of slow release carbohydrates, protein, fibre and 25 vitamins and minerals to give you the best start for the day.
If you are ready to lose weight then The Healthy Mummy plans offer a healthy and safe exercise and diet routine that are safe if you are breastfeeding.
And don’t forget to check out our current promotions and discounts page to see what specials we have on this week on our Healthy Mummy product range