7 Reasons to Start Your Day With a Healthy Breakfast

7 Reasons to Start Your Day With a Healthy Breakfast

#1: Protect your health with essential nutrients

Kick-start your day with much-needed nutrients!  As well as providing energy (calories), a healthy breakfast can give you the  nutrition your body needs, including fibre, vitamins and minerals. Breakfast should provide between 15 25% of the total daily energy intake, and remember: it’s not just about having any breakfast – it’s about having a healthy breakfast.

#2: Take control of your weight

Skipping or eating a breakfast that lacks of nutrients can make you more likely to reach for unhealthy, high-calorie foods later on*. In fact, research shows that individuals who consume a good quality breakfast tend to have a healthier daily food pattern than those who don’t.

#3: Muscle maintenance 

Protein is essential for developing and maintaining muscle, and our body relies on the protein in our diet to help us do this. As your body can only use so much protein at one time, it’s important to space out your protein intake throughout the day.

#4: Healthy skin

Beautiful skin starts with nourishment from within. Drinking water and enjoying a healthy breakfast are two healthy habits which will help you obtain the needed nutrients for every organ and system in your body, and the skin is no exception.

#5: Boost your metabolism

Eating a healthy morning meal and smaller portions more often throughout the day will help to balance your energy and enable your body to be more efficiently use of the calories available. Simply relying on two large, heavy meals per day puts too much pressure on your body, will make it easier to control your calorie intake if you have 3 main meals and 2 snacks.

#6: Power your brain

Improved mental performance, concentration and mood** – three more reasons to enjoy a morning meal! Without breakfast, you may struggle to focus and are more likely to be irritable and tired. And don’t forget to re-hydrate after a night’s sleep too, staying hydrated will also help you to concentrate throughout the day.

#7: Energy lift

Breakfast literally means to ‘break the fast’ and helps to top up the energy stores that your body has used overnight to repair and renew. Vitamins and minerals also contribute to the reduction of fatigue, meaning a healthy breakfast can actually help you avoid the mid-morning slump, which typically happens if you have skipped your first meal of the day.

 

*Leidy et al. (2013). Beneficial effects of a higher-protein breakfast on the appetitive, hormonal, and neural signals controlling energy intake regulation in overweight/obese, “breakfast-skipping,” late-adolescent girls. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; 97(4):677-88
** Reference: Cooper, S. B., S. Neveill, ME. (2011). Breakfast consumption and cognitive function in adolescent schoolchildren. Physiology & Behavior, 103, 431.