11 keys to a complete and balanced breakfast

Nutrition experts have long emphasized The importance of a good breakfast. It is easy to understand its effect on our performance throughout the morning, but we rarely imagine the impact that an unbalanced breakfast can have on our general state of health.

There are studies that show that skipping or neglect its nutritional quality it can be related to problems as diverse as gastritis, obesity, diabetes or various cardiovascular ailments.

Look for foods that nourish you for your breakfast

Unfortunately breakfast is one of the meals of the day that receives less attention in our country, to the point that, many times, it simply consists of a pastry and a coffee.

In some northern European countries, you usually start the day perhaps with a cereal flakes muesli with nuts, fruit and some milk or yogurt, freshly squeezed juice and even whole wheat bread with some protein.

Also in middle eastas in Lebanon, the first meal of the day still retains its relevance and includes nutritious ingredients such as Hummus chickpea wave Fig jam.

Avoid refined sugars and industrial pastries

In the past, our activity was connected with natural cycles. The first meals of the morning covered the necessary nutrients to face the hard work in the field or construction until the main meal arrived.

But since then things have changed. Currently, we often eat foods that do not cover the minimum nutritional needs. The breakfast carbohydrates are usually made up of refined sugars nutrient void that demineralize the body and cause glycemia ups and downs.

Taking this kind of sugar produces a feeling of euphoria after having breakfast, followed by a mid-morning slump. Many people turn to coffee to rescue them from that loss, but that leaves an energy debt, which leads to a vicious cycle.

The keys to a complete and balanced breakfast

Below we resolve some common questions about how a breakfast should be so that it is healthy and provides us with enough energy to face the day well.

1. What should a balanced breakfast provide?

It should include 25% of the day’s caloriesfiber, liquid, 60% slow assimilation carbohydrates (whole grains) and 15% protein (nuts or seeds, tofu…).

The healthy fats are present in the form of olive or nut oil.

2. Does breakfast have to include fresh fruit?

It is important include a piece of fruit in the early hours of the day, because it is easy to digest and helps to break the night’s fast. It provides vitamins, minerals and fiber, stimulates the appetite and helps to rehydrate.

we can include it as natural juice or adding it to a muesli.

3. Are whole grains important?

constitute the basis of a balanced breakfast, since they provide regular energy throughout the morning. They are the best source of carbohydrates and contain fiber.

can be taken in flakes, porridge or toast.

The oatmeal and the rye They are excellent.

4. How can I make the breakfast more complete?

Breakfasts are extraordinarily enriched if supplements are added, such as:

Wheat germ Brewer’s yeast Sesame and sunflower seeds Goji berries

Incorporating them into our breakfast we will increase nutrients and antioxidants.

5. How do I include protein in breakfast?

If you eat enough protein in the morning, you will feel more awake and more ready for action. You can choose, for example:

6. What time is the best to have breakfast?

It is ideal that breakfast is not right after waking up. Thus the organism will gradually adapt to the activity. You can take something else at mid-morning.

For the oriental doctors stomach cycle goes from 7 to 9 in the morning (solar time), when digestion is most efficient.

7. Is it better to have a sweet or salty breakfast?

Although many breakfasts are sweet, there are also healthy options to eat salty.

It is important to choose carbohydrates from the fruit, not sugar, and that they are balanced with the rest of the nutrients. You should not abuse jams and, where appropriate, choose jams with healthy sweeteners.

8. Does eating a full breakfast make you fat?

Studies show that people who eat a consistent breakfast are less prone to being overweightbecause the metabolism is more active in the morning.

A breakfast with fruit and whole grains has satiating effectswhich avoids obsessing over food.

9. Do the portions have to vary with age?

when we get old we need to reduce calorie intake and breakfast should be more frugal. There is also more need to hydrate and you have less digestive energy.

For this reason, it is advisable to divide it into two shots and include natural juices or hot cereal drinks.

10. Is breakfast important for children?

It has been shown that children who eat a good breakfast improve their school performance.

In addition, they usually have more iron in the bloodwhich increases your attention span, and a well-nourished brain, thanks to slowly assimilated carbohydrates and healthy fatty acids.

11. What if I don’t have an appetite when I get up?

It happens when you eat dinner late, because the metabolic processes that are activated during the night have not completely finished. It is solved by making a light dinner, or dividing breakfast into two parts.

We can also get up early and exercise before breakfast.