Eating a nutritious breakfast is a great way to jump-start the day, yet a tasty breakfast might not be finding its way onto your kitchen table. Rushed morning routines, trying to lose weight, and lack of appetite early in the morning are all reasons people skip breakfast. Nevertheless, mounting evidence supports the idea that breakfast may indeed be the most important meal of the day.
Breakfast benefits
Studies examining eating habits suggest that the regular consumption of breakfast can:
- Reduce risk of obesity and high cholesterol
- Decrease insulin resistance (a condition that increases risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease)
- Improve performance on memory-related tasks
- Minimize impulsive snacking and overeating at other meals
- Increase intake of essential nutrients that are rarely replenished by other meals of the day
- Enhance school performance in children and young adults
Although it would seem to make sense that skipping breakfast would save calories, data suggest otherwise. In a study of nearly 3,000 adults who lost and kept off at least 30 pounds for longer than one year, close to 90 percent reported eating breakfast on most days of the week. Interestingly, the breakfast eaters and breakfast skippers consumed almost the same total daily calories; the breakfast skippers made up the missed breakfast calories throughout the day. In addition, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that breakfast skippers are 4.5 times more likely to be obese than are breakfast eaters.
Quality counts
Before reaching for that doughnut or pastry, keep in mind that what you choose for breakfast is just as important as eating breakfast. Think of breakfast as the perfect opportunity to start accumulating the minimum five servings of fruits and vegetables and three servings of whole grains recommended for optimal health. Furthermore, the National Academy of Sciences recommends that adults consume 21 to 38 grams of fiber per day. This presents quite a challenge for those choosing low-fiber breakfast options or for those skipping breakfast altogether. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds are the best sources of dietary fiber. High-fiber foods have the added benefit of warding off mid-morning snack attacks by creating a feeling of fullness. Likewise, adding some protein such as seafood, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry, egg, or egg substitute can also aid in suppressing hunger.
Beating the breakfast blues
Breakfast can be one of the most monotonous meals of the day, but with a little creativity, the first meal of the day can be one of the best. Variety can beat breakfast boredom, so don’t be afraid to include some unorthodox breakfast foods for a change of pace. Additionally, if you have abandoned breakfast due to a busy lifestyle, some of these breakfast ideas can be packed up and taken along for a delicious grab-and-go breakfast treat.
Tips and ideas
No Time for Breakfast?
- Wrap a whole-grain tortilla around peanut butter and a banana and serve with low-fat milk or soy milk.
- Stuff a whole-wheat pita with low-fat cream cheese or low-fat cottage cheese and canned sliced peaches.
- Plan ahead and place whole-grain cereal (at least 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving) with dried fruit and nuts in a sealed bag. Grab in the morning along with a carton of low-fat yogurt or low-fat milk.
- Try some whole-grain crackers, string cheese, and grapes.
- Mix instant plain oatmeal with dried fruit, nuts, and a dash of cinnamon.
- Spread peanut butter and jam on whole-grain bread and have with a piece of fruit and low-fat milk or soy milk.
- Munch on a handful of unsalted mixed nuts served with an individual portion of low-sodium vegetable juice.
- Top a whole-wheat English muffin with soy sausage patty and a slice of low-fat cheese.
- Take along a piece of fruit, low-fat milk or soy milk, and a homemade muffin made on the weekend and stored in the freezer. (Substitute at least half the flour in recipes with whole-grain flour and supplement the batter with vegetables, nuts, and/or fruit.)
Not interested in traditional breakfast foods?
- Choose whole-grain varieties (check ingredient list for the words "whole" or "whole grain" in the first ingredient) of breads, tortillas, crackers, bagels, or pita breads and top or stuff with any of the following:
- Salmon spread made with low-fat cream cheese, canned salmon, and your favorite herbs
- Hummus with grated carrots and raisins
- Leftover skinless chicken or turkey with light mayonnaise and cranberry chutney
- Bean spread with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber slices
- Avocado, baby greens, roasted red pepper, and a few chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- Low-fat feta cheese with walnuts and dates
- Scrambled egg substitute or eggs with salsa
- Freezer pops made from a mixture of low-fat yogurt, low-fat milk, or soy milk mixed with 100-percent juice and fruit slices
- Baked tortilla chips with salsa and cut-up vegetables
- Grilled cheese sandwich made with whole-grain bread and low-fat cheese or soy cheese served with fruit. (For variety, stuff with grilled or sautéed vegetables made on the weekend and frozen as individual servings.)
- Celery and sliced apple with peanut butter
- Vegetables with low-fat dip and a hard-boiled egg
- Soy hot dog or veggie burger in a whole-grain bun with lettuce, tomato, your favorite condiments, and a side of baby carrots
- Pizza made with whole-grain pita bread, spaghetti sauce, and low-fat cheese served with fruit
- A bowl of vegetable soup and whole-grain crackers. (Try low-fat pureed soups in a travel mug if eating on the run.)
No appetite in the morning?
A lack of appetite in the morning may be the result of a large meal or snack consumed the night before. Perk up your morning appetite by eating lighter and earlier in the evenings. If a large breakfast is still not appealing, perhaps a breakfast smoothie may be the answer. Try blending a mixture of either low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, or soy milk with fruit, 100-percent fruit juice, and your favorite spices or flavor extract. Oat bran, wheat germ, or ground flax seed can be added for extra fiber.
So start your day the healthy way by fueling up with a nutritious breakfast!
Harvard Medical School
Nuts and your heart: Eating nuts for heart health
Eating nuts helps your heart. Discover how walnuts, almonds and other nuts help lower your cholesterol when eaten as part of a balanced diet.
Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet is good for your heart. Nuts, which contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients, are a great snack food, too. They're inexpensive, easy to store and easy to take with you to work or school. The type of nut you eat isn't that important, although some nuts have more heart-healthy nutrients and fats than do others. Walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, you name it, almost every type of nut has a lot of nutrition packed into a tiny package. If you have heart disease, eating nuts instead of a less healthy snack can help you more easily follow a heart-healthy diet.
Can eating nuts help your heart?
Most studies on people who eat nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet have found that nuts lower the LDL, low-density lipoprotein or "bad," cholesterol level in the blood. High LDL is one of the primary causes of heart disease, so nuts' ability to lower LDL cholesterol seems to be quite beneficial. Eating nuts reduces your risk of developing blood clots that can cause a fatal heart attack. Nuts also improve the health of the lining of your arteries. The evidence for the heart-health benefits of nuts isn't rock solid yet — the Food and Drug Administration only allows food companies to say evidence "suggests but does not prove" that eating nuts reduces heart disease risk.
What's in nuts that's thought to be heart healthy?
Although it varies by nut, researchers think most nuts contain at least some of these heart-healthy substances: § Unsaturated fats. It's not entirely clear why, but it's thought that the "good" fats in nuts — both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats — lower bad cholesterol levels. § Omega-3 fatty acids. Many nuts are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s are a healthy form of fatty acids that seem to help your heart by, among other things, preventing dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to heart attacks. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in many fish, but nuts are one of the best plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids. § L-arginine. Nuts also have lots of l-arginine, which is a substance that may help improve the health of your artery walls by making them more flexible and less prone to blood clots that can block blood flow. § Fiber. All nuts contain fiber, which helps lower your cholesterol. Fiber also makes you feel full, so you'll eat less later. Fiber is also thought to play a role in preventing diabetes. § Vitamin E. Researchers still aren't sure, but it's thought that vitamin E may help stop the development of plaques in your arteries which can narrow them, leading to chest pain, coronary artery disease or a heart attack. § Plant sterols. Some nuts contain plant sterols, a substance that can help lower your cholesterol. Plant sterols are often added to products like margarine and orange juice for additional health benefits, but sterols occur naturally in nuts.
What amount of nuts is considered healthy?
Nuts contain a lot of fat; as much as 80 percent of a nut is fat. Even though most of this fat is healthy fat, it's still a lot of calories. That's why you should eat nuts in moderation. Ideally, you should use nuts as a substitute for saturated fats, such as those found in meats, eggs and dairy products. Instead of eating unhealthy saturated fats, try substituting a handful of nuts. Current guidelines suggest eating 1 to 2 ounces (28.4 to 56.8 grams, or a small handful) of nuts each day. But again, do this as part of a heart-healthy diet. Just eating nuts and not cutting back on saturated fats found in many dairy and meat products won't do your heart any good.
Does it matter what kind of nuts you eat?
Possibly. Most nuts appear to be generally healthy, though some more so than others. Walnuts are one of the best-studied nuts, and it's been shown they contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans are other nuts that appear to be quite heart healthy. Even peanuts — which are technically not a nut, but a legume, like beans — seem to be relatively healthy. Coconut, which is technically a fruit, may be considered by some to be a nut, but it doesn't have heart-health benefits. Both coconut meat and oil contain a large amount of saturated fat. Keep in mind, you could end up canceling out the heart-healthy benefits of nuts if they're covered with chocolate, sugar or salt. Here's some nutrition information on common types of nuts. All calorie and fat content measurements are for 1 ounce, or 28.4 grams (g), of unsalted nuts.
|
Type of nut |
Calories |
Total fat (Saturated/Unsaturated fat)* |
| Almonds, raw |
163 |
14 g (1.1 g/12.2 g) |
| Almonds, dry roasted |
169 |
15 g (1.1 g/13.1 g) |
| Brazil nuts, raw |
186 |
19 g (4.3 g/12.8 g) |
| Cashews, dry roasted |
163 |
13.1 g (2.6 g/10 g) |
| Chestnuts, roasted |
69 |
0.6 g (1 g/5 g) |
| Hazelnuts (filberts), raw |
178 |
17 g (1.3 g/15.2 g) |
| Hazelnuts (filberts), dry roasted |
183 |
17.7 g (1.3 g/15.6 g) |
| Macadamia nuts, raw |
204 |
21.5 g (3.4 g/17.1 g) |
| Macadamia nuts, dry roasted |
204 |
21.6 g (3.4 g/17.2 g) |
| Peanuts, dry roasted |
166 |
14 g (2g/11.4 g) |
| Pecans, dry roasted |
201 |
21 g (1.8 g/18.3 g) |
| Pistachios, dry roasted |
162 |
13 g (1.6 g/10.8 g) |
| Walnuts, halved |
185 |
18.5 g (1.7 g/15.9 g) |
*The saturated and unsaturated fat contents in each nut may not add up to the total fat content because the fat value may also include some nonfatty acid material, such as sugars or phosphates.
MayoClinic.com