Breakfast, why is it so important and what should you have?

We can't stress the importance of breakfast enough. There's an old saying that goes, Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. Having a glass of milk, or a cup of tea as breakfast is the worst mistake you could make. It should be a balanced diet with all the required vitamins and minerals.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps you in many different ways including bot not limiting to keeping your weight in control and giving you a good head start for the day.

In this blog we'll mainly be covering reasons you should never be skipping your breakfast. Along with that we'll also be covering 5 breakfast options that are highly nutritious and truly healthy.

Importance of having breakfast

Energy

The primary source of energy in our body is glucose. Glucose is obtained from the carbohydrates that we eat. Most of the energy is stored as fat, but there's some part which is stored as glycogen as well. Glycogen is mostly stored in our liver and small amounts in our muscles.

When we fast for long (such as overnight fasting), Glycogen is broken down by the body and released into our bloodstream to maintain the blood sugar levels. This is important because are brain relies entirely on glucose for energy.

So, naturally our glycogen levels deplete at night and are at a low when we wake up. That is why, having breakfast boosts our energy levels and restores our glycogen levels ready to keep our metabolism up for the day.

Breakfast helps you control your weight

It has been seen that people who generally have breakfast in the morning are less likely to be overweight and obese. There is no concrete research that points to this fact, however there are some common and logical explanation to this -

1. having a healthy breakfast ensures that the fluctuation levels in your blood sugar level aren't high which in turn helps you control your appetite
2. having a healthy breakfast also ensures that you're stomach is filled before you get really hungry. People tend to eat whatever they find when they become really hungry. This includes sugary things or things with added salt and which are high in fat.

Good for your metabolism

Breakfast jump-starts your metabolism in the morning. This in turn helps to helps burn calories throughout the day. However, if you skip your breakfast it indicates you body to conserve, rather than burn, extra calories. A healthy metabolism has other advantages like improving blood circulation and elevating your mood.

Breakfast stimulates the brain

Having a healthy breakfast is associated with stable glucose levels. This in turn helps your mind to focus, reason and process information. Especially in children and adolescents it has been seen that regularly eating breakfast can lead to better performance and a steady balance.

So, what should you be having in breakfast?

So what are all the things that should be present in an ideal breakfast? An ideal breakfast is one which is balanced. It should be tasty (that's more of my personal choice 🙈) as well as healthy. It should be consisting of a variety of different types of food and providing adequate amounts of the nutrients necessary for good health. Here we bring you some breakfast options that we see as healthy and tasty options -

Here is a list of food items that contain complex carbohydrates, protein and a small amount of fat. This combination not only has loads of health benefits but also helps you feel full for hours-

• Whole grains. Examples include whole-grain rolls and bagels, hot or cold whole-grain cereals, whole-grain English muffins, and whole-grain waffles.
• Lean protein. Examples include eggs, lean meat, legumes and nuts.
• Low-fat dairy. Examples include milk, plain or lower sugar yogurts, and low-fat cheeses, such as cottage cheese and natural cheeses.
• Fruits and vegetables. Examples include fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, 100 percent juice drinks without added sugar, and fruit and vegetable smoothies.

You should be at least be having 3 of these things, if not all 4. Try to do a permutation of all of these items so that your breakfast does not become monotonous.

Thanks for reading! If you found value out of this blog, please do share it with your friends and family.

One major reason why most of us don't have breakfast is because of the time constraints in the morning. We have a host of other chores to do and making breakfast just adds to it. Preparing breakfast can really be tedious and can eat up a lot of your morning time.

We at Calvays are majorly focused on protein rich easy to prepare breakfast options. We have tens of products that you can choose from. We have vegetarian as well as eggitarian options. These include traditional Indian breakfast items like Upma and Poha to more exotic options like Mueslis. We also offer healthy nuts and sugar free options. All of our breakfast options are protein rich and provide a good start to your day. Please do check us out if you find us interesting.