The GAINS of breakfast

I’m not the type of athlete who ever skips breakfast. I truly believe those who still claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Several studies actually prove this fact even though very few people are aware of how important breakfast really is. 

As an actively sportive person, very keen towards nutrition and quite pragmatic, when it comes to nutrition and sports, let me summarise here the fundamental facts of breakfast.

ives you an energy boost 
A well balanced breakfast that contains the essential macro and micro nutrients will give you enough energy to get through your day. Fibers, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A are just a few of the many nutrients that will help boost your energy level. Oatmeal with a tea spoon of honey, some nuts and one kiwi is an example of a nutritious breakfast (besides what I personally eat every morning)

llows you to focus betterWhenever I skip breakfast, which happens very rarely, my concentration level is really low. One cause of this troublesome situation can be explained with the fact that, for instance, going to work without eating breakfast first is basically equivalent to preventing yourself from fuelling and still burning calories. A body lacking glucose, the sugar that supplies energy to the brain, cannot just work at his full potential. How do you get glucose? Breakfast, of course. 

ncreases your metabolism rate

Despite the complex evolutionary adaptations that our body has gone through, the reality is quite different: our body still operates as some thousands years ago. Whenever cavemen didn’t have breakfast (which, by that time, it was clearly not called like that), they usually didn't have any food for the rest of day.  As a result, their metabolism went into a state of energy conservation, namely a slow metabolism rate. Can someone explain to our body that we are not living in stone age anymore? Because that's how our genetic compounds really work

o more LDL cholesterolLDL stands for Low-Density Lipoprotein cholesterol. In simpler terms, the bad cholesterol. When too much bad cholesterol is circulating in the blood, a series of bad things can happen, such as the formation of clots in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and the brain. This, in turn, can lead to dramatic consequences, as everybody knows.
Studies have shown that eating breakfast regularly can help to decrease the level of LDL cholesterol.

taves off heart attacks
A study from Harvard School of Public Health found that men who regularly skipped breakfast had 27% higher risk of heart attack or death from coronary heart disease than those who did eat a morning meal. Skipping breakfast increases the risk of high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, which are all heart disease risk factors. Waking up, switching on the news, preparing some breakfast and take some time to consume it is a good plan that might reduce the risk of having a heart attack. Isn't it great?

This list is not exhaustive, of course. I just wrote some good reasons to start your day with breakfast.  Bear in mind that not all breakfast is good. Breakfast is just like fuel for a car. The better the fuel, the cleaner it will burn, the less it will pollute and the more efficient the engine will be. 

Can you read it now? Breakfast can only give you GAINS. Have breakfast!
Love,

Caroline