Why breakfast really is the best way to start your day

The importance of breakfast has long been a part of the prevailing wisdom, and the habit of eating breakfast has always been a marker of a healthy lifestyle.

Yet, if there’s a meal that is going to be skipped, it’s probably breakfast; and this is a pity because research shows that there are many health benefits associated with eating breakfast regularly. Studies show that 1 in 5 South African children skip breakfast.

A healthy breakfast kick-starts the metabolism, lights up mental functioning and boosts physical energy on a day-to-day basis.

However, the health benefits of breakfast are not just experienced over the short-term. Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast regularly over the long term helps to reduce risks of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

“It is ironic that one of the common reasons for skipping breakfast is the desire to lose weight when it has the opposite effects,” says Rebone Ntsie, Director of Nutrition at the National Department of Health. “The lack of breakfast leads to a far greater risk of compensating with unhealthy snacks to get through to lunchtime and with bigger lunch portions.”

Dr Christine Taljaard-Krugell, ADSA (Association for Dietetics in South Africa) President, points out the importance of engaging with a registered dietitian to help make healthy breakfasts a habit for the whole family.

“Other reasons so many South Africans skip breakfast include food not being available, it not being a family routine, time pressure in the mornings, not feeling hungry or not liking typical breakfast foods. From food budgeting to menu planning and meal preparation, there are solutions to all these issues.”

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What should a healthy breakfast consist of?

Breakfast should consist of at least one food group (excluding beverages). However, to stay fuller for longer and improve the variety of nutrients you take in at breakfast, it helps to include foods from three or more food groups.

A rule of thumb is to choose a minimally processed starchy food combined with a food from at least one of the following groups:

• vegetables or fruit
• dry beans, lentils, split peas, soya
• fish, chicken, lean meat or eggs
• milk, maas or yoghurt
• plant oils, soft margarine, peanut butter

In addition, it is important to water instead of a sugary drink.

Be ‘breakfast ready’ and beat the morning rush

Before you go to bed at night, set up your kitchen for breakfast. Soak the oats and slice the fruit so you don’t have to do it in the morning. Cook extra maize meal porridge for the next day’s breakfast when making supper, or boil some eggs the night before.

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Make it healthy and enjoyable

“It’s easier to make breakfast a daily habit if you enjoy it,” says Carol Browne of the Nutrition Society of South Africa (NSSA). “While our cultures may define what breakfast foods are, there are really no hard and fast rules.

“It doesn’t matter whether you eat the same things as others for breakfast – it just matters that you have a healthy start to the day. This means having a minimally processed starchy food, as part of the meal, and combining it with food from at least one other food group.”

For example, maize meal porridge with maas and an apple; brown bread with pilchards and sliced tomato; last night’s leftover beans can be used as a sandwich filling on brown bread for a great breakfast.

“There are a lot of expensive foods presented to us as ideal for breakfast that are not always healthy,” adds Browne. “There are breakfast cereals, cereal bars and biscuits, jams and spreads stacked with added (free) sugars that we should not eat on a regular basis.”

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You don’t have to do a mega breakfast all in one go

There are many people who question the advice to eat when they don’t feel hunger after they have woken up. However, breakfast can take place within three hours after waking.

You can stagger your healthy breakfast by starting with an unsweetened, low-fat yoghurt before you leave home; having a banana en-route to work and eating a brown bread peanut butter sandwich just before you start work.

Get your children involved in breakfast

Studies have shown that children who eat breakfast perform better at school than those who skip it. Eating breakfast has an immediate, positive impact on cognitive function, especially memory and concentration.

Parents are the major influence on whether children make eating breakfast a habit. It helps to make breakfast a family activity, and involve children in preparing breakfast and eating together. Parents also need to ensure that healthy breakfast options are available in the house.

Picture: iStock

Don’t let breakfast break the budget

Drawing up a monthly food budget and sticking to it can make a healthy breakfast, and all other family meals possible. Shop smarter wherever you can. Buy in bulk wherever possible, sharing, especially bulk fruit and vegetables, with extended family, friends and neighbours so that you can all benefit from healthier food choices.

Monitor and reduce any household food waste. Think about how you can include more affordable healthy ingredients such as dry beans and lentils in your family meals, including tasty homemade beans on toast for breakfast.

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