Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Breakfast For The Champions?

Arguably, everyone, from the time when we were able to make our own decisions and feed ourselves, has been repeatedly told by their mothers that “Breakfast is the most important meal
of the day!”. But is this true? Sometimes we don’t have enough time, we’re too tired to bother,
we want a little extra shut-eye or we just don’t have anything to eat! Does that mean that our
days will be less productive? That our day will be worse? That we will die? Okay, so you won’t
die, but it is true that breakfast is vitally important to your well-being day-to-day!


Eating breakfast, as so plainly described in the name, means that you are breaking the
overnight fasting period from being asleep. When you sleep, your body’s energy source,
glucose, that has been stored in the muscle tissue is slowly released into the bloodstream
to keep blood sugar levels stable. Once all of this stored energy is used up, your body’s backup
is to break down fatty acids to produce energy, which when used up reduces energy levels
in the body. This is all to say that your body needs to be replenished with glucose, or glycogen,
in order to restore its energy for the day, and this can only be accomplished by consuming food.
Breakfast ladies and gentleman! It’s how you have to start your day!


To be a bit more expansive, all parts of our body need the energy to work!
This energy comes from food! When our bodies digest food, it is broken down in the stomach
by acid and enzymes into a type of sugar called glucose. Your stomach and small intestines
absorb this glucose and released into the bloodstream to be used immediately for energy.
Simply, consumption of food = energy = a functioning body = staying alive.

Furthermore, it’s extremely important to keep your blood sugar high! This is accomplished
by breaking down carbohydrates in foods into sugars, to be released into your blood.
When it’s low you may experience sweating, fatigue, lightheadedness, shakiness, nausea,
dryness, anxiety, headache, blurred vision, sleepiness, unsteadiness… and I could go on
and on. Now does that sound like how you want to start your day?


In case you don’t believe my word, here’s some evidence! Extensive research in Australia
and overseas has discovered that many children who skip breakfast are heavier than those
who eat breakfast, that skipping breakfast can diminish mental performance and their ability
to pay attention, that they have reduced fatigue and that skipping breakfast is associated with
quickly advancing age.

So eat your breakfast cereals, fruits, toast, muffins, yogurts and drink some low-fat milk,
whatever you’re into, and start your day right! It’s backed by science, it’s backed by your
mother, what more insurance of truth can you ask for?

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