A Healthy Breakfast is Important for Everyone

An important meal
​Breakfast is considered an important meal because it breaks the overnight fasting period, replenishes your supply of glucose and provides other essential nutrients to keep your energy levels up throughout the day. Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast (as opposed to the kind containing doughnuts or bacon) can help give you:

• A more nutritionally complete diet, higher in nutrients, vitamins and minerals

• Improved concentration and performance at work or in the classroom

• More strength and endurance to engage in physical activity

• Lower cholesterol levels

• A healthy body weight

Breakfast is important for both children and adults

Eating breakfast is important for everyone, but is especially so for children and adolescents. Studies have shown that kids do better in school when they’ve eaten a high-fiber, low glycemic index breakfast like oatmeal, rather than a sugary cereal. The same approach should work for adults who go to work early and have to make quick decisions. The right breakfast foods can help you concentrate, give you strength and even help you maintain a healthy weight.

What is a healthy breakfast?

But what is a healthy breakfast? Many studies show that a healthy breakfast contains protein and/or whole grains and not meals loaded with fat and calories. A healthy breakfast meal should contain a variety of foods, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low -or non-fat dairy and lean protein such as eggs. For example, a Harvard study of more than 17,000 men found that those who frequently ate breakfast cereal -- both refined grain and whole-grain types -- consistently weighed less than those who rarely or never ate breakfast cereal.