Breakfast is a nutritious way to start out your day. Eating breakfast refuels your body, enhances your mood, improves your concentration, helps you maintain a healthy weight, and is the foundation of a healthy diet. Eating a healthy breakfast can be quick and easy, and provide you with benefits that last the entire day.
INCREASED ENERGY
Typically, there is a period of 8 to 12 hours between dinner and your morning meal. Therefore, when you eat breakfast, you are breaking a fast from the night before. Breakfast is a chance to give your body the food it needs to replenish your blood glucose levels. Glucose is your main energy source; it fuels your brain and your body. Eating breakfast will provide your body with the glucose it needs to function properly and fight fatigue.
ESSENTIAL VITAMINS AND MINERALS
Eating a healthy breakfast is a great opportunity to eat nutritious foods, which provide your body with essential vitamins and minerals. Vitamins and minerals are needed by your body for proper growth and maintenance, carbohydrate and protein metabolism, bone strength, and a healthy immune system. People who regularly consume a healthy breakfast are more likely to meet their daily nutrient requirements, eat less fat and have a lower cholesterol, which may reduce the risk of heart disease.
IMPROVED CONCENTRATION
A well-balanced breakfast can help keep you alert and productive throughout the morning. Breakfast improves concentration, problem-solving skills, hand-eye coordination, creativity and attention span. Eating breakfast will also give you energy, help you be more physically active, and miss fewer days of school or work due to illness.
A HEALTHY WEIGHT
Many people have the misconception that skipping breakfast will help them lose weight. However, doing this may actually cause you to snack throughout the day, eat more at your next meal, and negatively impact your mood. Breakfast boosts your metabolism first thing in the morning. It curbs your hunger, prevents binge eating later in the day, and stabilizes your blood sugar. In addition, eating a fiber-rich breakfast helps you fill up and keeps you full for longer so that you do consume extra calories throughout the day.
FOUNDATION OF A HEALTHY DIET
People who eat breakfast regularly are more likely to consume a healthier diet overall. By skipping breakfast, you may have a difficult time consuming essential nutrients your body needs to stay healthy. Breakfast foods typically consist of milk, whole grains, fruit and even vegetables, which are significant sources of vitamins C and D, calcium, iron and fiber. If you do not eat breakfast, you may not meet your daily nutrient recommendations. Most importantly, eating breakfast leads to healthier food choices at other meals.
A HEALTHY BREAKFAST
Eating breakfast does not mean downing a cup of coffee and a doughnut. The core of a healthy breakfast consist of whole grains, such as hot or cold cereals; a bran muffin; whole-wheat rolls or bagels; low-fat protein, such as peanut butter, lean meat, poultry, fish or hard boiled eggs; low-fat dairy, including skim milk, low-fat yogurt and low-fat cheeses; and fruit and vegetables, such as 100 percent juices, parfaits, smoothies and fresh or frozen fruit. Less healthy options such as sweet buns, fried eggs, sausage, deep fried cakes and soft drinks do not provide you with the lasting benefits of a healthy breakfast.
Winning the war against aging is not achieved by drinking a daily shot glass filled with the mystical juice of a magical berry from Southeast Asia. In fact, aging is best kept at bay by fighting off chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, which accelerate the aging process and are the main causes of premature death.
Although accelerated aging -- and aging in general -- is a complex process, you can fight it with five simple daily habits.
Although accelerated aging -- and aging in general -- is a complex process, you can fight it with five simple daily habits.
"Inactivity and the loss of muscle mass accelerate the aging process. The age-related changes in muscle quantity and quality that occur -- even down to the cellular level -- can be counteracted by just staying active."
Rainbow of Fruits and Vegetables
People who eat a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables consistently have the lowest rates of chronic disease. They maintain healthier body weights, and they live longer.
The diverse colors of fruits and vegetables represent different nutrients and antioxidants. These various nutrients and antioxidants can fight aging from a number of angles. Anthocyanins, for example, the antioxidant that gives blueberries their dark blue color, can help fight cancer cell growth, while beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A that gives carrots their orange color, can help support optimal immune function.
To eat a rainbow of colors each day, Kara Mohr of Mohr Results recommends you "pick out one to two new fruits or vegetables every time you shop for food, and include a fruit or vegetable in every meal and snack."
The diverse colors of fruits and vegetables represent different nutrients and antioxidants. These various nutrients and antioxidants can fight aging from a number of angles. Anthocyanins, for example, the antioxidant that gives blueberries their dark blue color, can help fight cancer cell growth, while beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A that gives carrots their orange color, can help support optimal immune function.
To eat a rainbow of colors each day, Kara Mohr of Mohr Results recommends you "pick out one to two new fruits or vegetables every time you shop for food, and include a fruit or vegetable in every meal and snack."
Long Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The long chain omega-3 fats eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, are as close to a fountain of youth the world has to offer.
Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far, a cardiologist at San Francisco General Hospital, and his colleagues conducted a study looking at the effect of EPA and DHA on chromosomal aging. They found, according to the publication of the results in "JAMA," that individuals with the highest levels of EPA and DHA in their blood had the lowest rates of heart disease and the slowest rates of chromosomal aging.
EPA and DHA are found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, halibut, mackerel and sardines. If you don't like seafood or you don't like fish enough to eat it every day, take a fish oil supplement. Getting EPA and DHA in your diet from a supplement works just as well as getting them from eating fish.
Dr. Ramin Farzaneh-Far, a cardiologist at San Francisco General Hospital, and his colleagues conducted a study looking at the effect of EPA and DHA on chromosomal aging. They found, according to the publication of the results in "JAMA," that individuals with the highest levels of EPA and DHA in their blood had the lowest rates of heart disease and the slowest rates of chromosomal aging.
EPA and DHA are found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, halibut, mackerel and sardines. If you don't like seafood or you don't like fish enough to eat it every day, take a fish oil supplement. Getting EPA and DHA in your diet from a supplement works just as well as getting them from eating fish.
Floss Every Day
Flossing isn't just good for your gums; it's good for your longevity, too. Flossing removes the bacteria that causes periodontitis and leads to cavities. But this bacteria can cause problems for more than just your teeth and gums. If you wait too long between flossing, the bacteria surrounding your teeth and gums will build up. Flossing loosens and removes the bacteria. This is important because if enough bacteria builds up, it can enter your blood stream, causing inflammation and increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading killer in the United States.
In fact, research from the "Journal of Periodontology" compared people who floss every couple of days to those who floss daily. The results showed that those who floss intermittently had an 86 percent higher chance of bacteria entering their blood than those who floss daily.
In fact, research from the "Journal of Periodontology" compared people who floss every couple of days to those who floss daily. The results showed that those who floss intermittently had an 86 percent higher chance of bacteria entering their blood than those who floss daily.
Drink Plenty of Green Tea
Green tea may not be able to fight cancer, but it will help you shed those extra age-accelerating pounds you're carrying around. Green tea contains an antioxidant called epigallocatechin-3-gallate. A daily dose of EGCG combined with caffeine will help you lose as many as three pounds in 12 weeks and one inch off your waist, according to a January 2010 study published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition."
While scientists are not sure of the exact means that green tea enhances fat loss -- there seem to be multiple -- you can reap these beneficial effects by drinking three to five 8-ounce cups each day. This is easily achieved by simply having a cup of green tea with each of your meals.
While scientists are not sure of the exact means that green tea enhances fat loss -- there seem to be multiple -- you can reap these beneficial effects by drinking three to five 8-ounce cups each day. This is easily achieved by simply having a cup of green tea with each of your meals.
Move More
Inactivity and the loss of muscle mass as you get older can accelerate the aging process. The age-related changes in muscle quantity and quality that occur -- even down to the cellular level -- can be counteracted by staying active.
Certified trainer Keith Scott, owner of Impact Training & Fitness in West Berlin, New Jersey, urges his clients to engage in simple tasks to get themselves moving.
"Going for a walk the first thing in the morning is an excellent way to increase general movement," he said. "In the spring and summer, I encourage clients to work on their yards by cleaning up, gardening or weeding. Activities like yard work encourage multiple movements that are simple yet great ways to move. Squatting, walking, bending, lifting [and so forth] are just some of the movements that are done in a few hours' worth of yard work."
Certified trainer Keith Scott, owner of Impact Training & Fitness in West Berlin, New Jersey, urges his clients to engage in simple tasks to get themselves moving.
"Going for a walk the first thing in the morning is an excellent way to increase general movement," he said. "In the spring and summer, I encourage clients to work on their yards by cleaning up, gardening or weeding. Activities like yard work encourage multiple movements that are simple yet great ways to move. Squatting, walking, bending, lifting [and so forth] are just some of the movements that are done in a few hours' worth of yard work."
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/
REFERENCES
- Fun-In-Seven: Why Do We Need to Eat Breakfast?
- Mayo Clinic: Healthy Breakfast -- Quick, Flexible Options to Grab at Home
- MyOptimumHealth.com: Get A Boost by Eating Breakfast; Jane Schwartz Harrison, R.D.; November 30, 2009.
- Kaiser Permanente:The Importance of Eating a Good Breakfast; July 2008.
- KidsHealth.org: Ready, Set, Breakfast; Mary L. Gavin, M.D.; March 2007.
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