Just how important is breakfast?

During a busy morning, it’s easy to let breakfast slide down low in your list of priorities, but taking just a few minutes to have something to eat can really make a difference to your day. If you don’t have time to eat before leaving the house, there are lots of breakfast ideas/recipes that can be eaten on-the-go or when you get to work.

Breakfast provides many benefits to our health and wellbeing, it provides the body and brain with fuel after an overnight fast – that’s where its name originates, breaking the fast!  Apart from providing us with energy, breakfast foods are good sources of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins as well as protein and fiber. The body needs these essential nutrients and research shows that if these are missed at breakfast, they are less likely to be compensated for later in the day. Fruit and vegetables are good sources of vitamins and minerals so try to include a portion of your daily five at breakfast.

Breakfast can be good for waistline too, research shows those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be within their ideal weight range compared with breakfast skippers, suggesting that if you skip breakfast, you’re more likely to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks mid-morning.

Breakfast also restores glucose levels, an essential carbohydrate that is needed for the brain to function. Many studies have shown how eating breakfast can improve memory and concentration levels and can also make us happier as it can improve mood and lower stress levels. In studies amongst children breakfast has been shown to improve behaviour and has also been linked to improved grades. Just like any other organ in the body, the brain needs energy to work at it’s best!

People’s energy needs vary depending on activity levels and life stage but typically men require more energy than women. Growing children require a lot of energy, as an example boys aged 7-10yrs should consume approx. 1970 kcals per day, and girls aged 7-10yrs should consume approx. 1740 kcals. For adults, men require approx. 2500 kcals and women approx. 2000 kcals per day.

For more information the link below will take you to a great resource I often refer to for up to date health and exercise information,  http://www.positivehealthwellness.com while the following link has some yummy and healthy breakfast recipes:  7 Ideal Recipes for Weight loss.