Breakfast is the first and important meal of the day. It should be healthy and give you an energy boost. But there are certain breakfast foods that are not healthy for any individual. Which are these foods to avoid at this time of the day?
Breakfast and breakfast foods
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is the first meal that we have after the overnight fasting and sleep. Hence, it should be balanced and healthy. The breakfast should be able to rid us of the morning sleepiness and give us the energy boost for the day. Moreover, it should be satiating. It should be able to keep us feeling full for longer time so that we do not end up with unhealthy snacking in between breakfast and lunch.
White bread (Source: Brown eyed Baker)Dietitian Natalie Forester gave an interview to The Sun UK magazine and in it she said that natural and unprocessed foods are best for breakfast time. She said:
‘If there’s a packaged product you want to consume, first check the ingredients and ask yourself, can I imagine this ingredient growing? – And move forward from there.’
She and another dietitian, Rebekah Blakely talked about breakfast foods to avoid.
Processed foods
Avoid all types of processed foods at breakfast. Biscuits, pies, pastries are not healthy food items at breakfast time. These have added sugars, salt, and fats that are trans fats. These can increase the risk of chronic diseases. They are also caloric dense and can increase body weight. Natalie warns against all such processed food items at breakfast.
Refined grains and white bread
Toast and bread are often eaten in the morning at most households of the UK. These are easy to prepare and also convenient. However, Natalie states that white bread is made from refined flour. This flour lacks nutrients and fiber. Hence, if you want to have bread at breakfast, opt for the whole grains bread. One can also choose bagels, sprouted bread or quinoa at breakfast.
Flavored instant oats (Source: Amazon)Flavored oats
Oats are good at breakfast. But flavored oats are not. Because these have added sugars and other food additives such as flavors, colors etc. Dietician Rebekah Blakely suggests clearing the pantry cabinet of flavored instant oats packs. Plain oats have less than 1 grams of sugar in it. But the flavored oats pack has 11 to 14 g per gram of the pack. The best option are plain oats with fruits and nuts toppings. You can also have overnight oats or can cook the instant oats in the microwave.
Low fat peanut butter
Peanut butter is healthy with proteins and healthy fats. But the low-fat versions of it are not. Rebekah states that the full-fat peanut butter is healthier for the eyes, immunity and heart. According to her,
‘Yes, peanut butter is about 70 per cent fat, but it’s primarily monounsaturated fat which is heart healthy and you get a good source of fat-soluble vitamin E, an antioxidant important for eye, heart, and immune health.’
Read here: The breakfast mistake that can cause insulin resistance and high blood sugar!
Danish pastries (Source: Brown eyed Baker)Danish pastries
These pastries are tasty but they have high calories, sugars and fats in them. Moreover, the fats are of the saturated type. A healthier replacement for these pastries would be chia bar containing fruits.