How to super-charge your breakfast
Excerpts from Catherine Saxelby's article
The best way to kick start your body in the morning is to give
it the right fuel.
The word 'breakfast' literally means to "break the fast" - it may
have been over 8hrs since your last meal the night before. By
morning, your brain and muscles are crying out for fuel to spring
them into action and face the day ahead.
Why is breakfast so important?
Breakfast functions as 'brain food', refueling the brain as well as
the body. It gives your metabolism a kick-start and gears it up to
run efficiently through the day.
Skipping breakfast means that we are more likely to overeat later in the day, usually something that's quick to hand, or non-nutritious high-fat fast food. This often leads to unwanted weight gain (so having breakfast really CAN help you stay slim).
Not having breakfast also means that you could be tired and have trouble concentrating on the morning's lessons. Thinking about really difficult things becomes hard.
Breakfast helps:
- working memory
- problem-solving abilities
- accuracy on maths and other complex tasks
- creative thinking
So make sure you have it if you are going into an exam!
We might miss breakfast for two or three reasons:
- lack of time
- being too tired
- or not feeling like eating in the morning
If this sounds like you, have something light like fruit or a bowl of flake cereal with milk. Even a banana is enough, and quick if you've fallen out of bed only just in time to get the bus.
Believe it or not, eating breakfast can actually help wake you up.
Choosing cereal
Unless you play a lot of sport a light cereal-and-toast style of
breakfast is filling enough and meets all your nutrition
needs.
Save other breakfasts like egg and bacon, scrambled eggs,
croissants, cheese on toast, and banana smoothies for a weekend or
a family breakfast.
Does the cereal in your cupboard match up?
