One of the keys to building an energizing day is breakfast. Unfortunately, many people have the wrong perception about breakfast and even tend to underestimate this eating habit. In fact, it’s a shame if you skip breakfast because there are many benefits that you can get.
The benefits of breakfast for the body
Breakfast is one of the important activities to start the day so that the body can function properly.
Unfortunately, there are still many people who skip breakfast, even though this habit provides many important benefits for the body. Here’s an example.
1. Helps meet daily nutritional needs
According to Jansen Ongko, M.Sc, RD, a fitness nutrition practitioner in Jakarta, breakfast fulfills around 15-30% of daily nutritional needs.
In addition, breakfast helps to cultivate healthy eating habits.
Why is that? There are a variety of food menus that you can enjoy for breakfast, such as a glass of milk, oatmeal, fruit, whole wheat cereal, or toast.
These foods contain fiber, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, zinc, and other nutrients the body needs.
If you don’t get enough fiber from lunch and dinner, a fiber-rich breakfast menu can complement your nutritional needs.
2. Provides energy
After a night of sleep, your stomach is empty without food. To start the day with enthusiasm, you need a nutritious intake from breakfast.
Breakfast with energy-boosting foods can certainly re-fill your energy for activities. Breakfast also doesn’t make your stomach growl quickly during the day when you are busy with activities.
Conversely, not having breakfast can make your stomach very hungry, especially if your activities that day are very dense and require extra energy.
This makes the body tired quickly. As a result, you cannot complete activities optimally.
3. Help control weight
You may never think that the benefits of breakfast are related to your efforts to maintain an ideal body weight.
If you’re on a diet, it’s important to consider breakfast. The reason is, skipping breakfast can make your stomach growl.
A hunger that continues to be left until lunchtime actually increases your appetite. As a result, you will eat more lunch than usual.
Holding hunger also tends to make you crave unhealthy foods, such as foods high in fat.
If this becomes a habit, plus you don’t move actively, it will certainly be easy to gain weight.
4. Healthy heart
According to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website, breakfast has the benefit of protecting the heart from various risks of disease.
This benefit, of course, comes from the nutritional content in your breakfast menu.
Breakfast oatmeal with pieces of bananas for example, these foods contain soluble fiber which can lower cholesterol levels in the body.
You need to know that cholesterol that accumulates can form plaque in the blood vessels around the heart in the future. This condition can trigger a heart attack.
5. Healthy bones
Usually, what is the mainstay of the menu for breakfast? Most people probably answer a glass of milk and bread.
Both are filling and easy to make. Behind these advantages, these two foods generally contain vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus.
All three are vitamins and minerals needed to maintain a healthy body.
The vitamin D you get can also help meet your daily intake, especially when you don’t get enough sun exposure.
6. Keep blood sugar levels stable
Skipping breakfast can make your blood sugar levels decrease, especially if the activities you do are very energy-draining.
Going without food for several hours causes the body to send signals to the liver to break down glycogen (energy reserves) to release glucose into the bloodstream.
As a result, there is a decrease in blood sugar levels. If left untreated, the body can become weak, break out in cold sweats, and you will become very hungry.
To prevent this annoying drop in blood sugar levels, you need breakfast. Your blood sugar will return to normal if you have eaten.
A healthy breakfast guide as well as restrictions
Very much is not the benefit of breakfast? You can get all the benefits of breakfast if you follow the following rules.
1. Healthy nutritious food choices
Prof. Dr. Ir. Hardinsyah, Nutritionist and General Chairperson of PERGIZI PANGAN Indonesia stated that the breakfast menu of most Indonesians still does not meet complete and balanced nutritional needs.
This is because breakfast is still considered just to prop up the stomach and prevent hunger.
People do not understand that breakfast is the energy supply needed by the body so that it is better prepared for activities all day long.
Well, a healthy breakfast menu should contain the following nutrients.
1. Carbs: complex carbohydrates like oatmeal, oats, whole grains, and brown rice.
2. Protein: eggs and lean meat.
3. Vitamins and minerals: fruits and vegetables.
4. Fats: unsaturated fats like nuts.
5. Fiber: fruit and vegetables.
6. Liquids: water, fruit juices, and soups.
2. The portion is suitable for breakfast
The body gets essential nutrients from breakfast. That way, you will have more stamina and concentration will be maintained. Your day is much more productive.
It’s important to meet your nutritional intake at breakfast, but you still need to pay attention to breakfast portions.
Prof. Dr. Ir. Hardinsyah explained that ideally one breakfast plate should be filled with:
1. 4/5 servings of complex carbohydrates,
2. 1/4 serving of side dishes which are a source of protein and minerals, as well
3. 1/2 portion of fruit and vegetables to meet the needs of vitamins and minerals.
3. Avoid taboos
In order for the benefits of breakfast to be maximized, avoid the following restrictions.
1. Do not eat too much because it can make the stomach full and lethargic.
2. Avoid consuming the same food because the nutritional content may not be sufficient.
3. Limit the way of cooking fried breakfast because it tends to be high in saturated fat.
4. Don’t have breakfast too late, ie no later than 10 am.
This guide can help you get the abundant benefits of breakfast. So, don’t skip breakfast anymore.