B is for Breakfast

Simple, Practical, Science-Based Tips for a Long Healthy Life from Experts in Nutrition and Exercise Science

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? It is an impossible question to answer for many reasons: what is breakfast? A cup of coffee? A donut? Or traditional U.S. breakfast foods like waffles or eggs or cereal? And, important for what? For weight management, for heart health, or blood sugar control? Also, consider important for whom? Children, adolescents, or adults of all ages?  It is easy to see the challenge of answering the oft asked question is breakfast the most important meal of the day?

I can say that for me, the answer is yes. But that doesn’t mean it is the answer for you. I have three reasons for my personal response.

1. I’m active in the morning…. a couple of miles of dog walking, exercise classes at my local YMCA, and a session with a personal trainer all occur before 11 am. By eating breakfast, I have fuel to get me though activity without feeling like I’m dragging by noon.
2. When I eat breakfast, I am less hungry throughout the day.
3. Since I am a dietitian, I care about getting nutrients and my usual breakfast delivers nutrients. At least five days a week, this is my breakfast. I might change up the cereal, but I always include a fiber-rich cereal, like Fiber One. (I am not a spokesperson or paid to endorse any of the items pictured…they just happen to be my favorites.) I like ultra-filtered milk because it has more protein than regular milk and it has a longer refrigerator shelf life. I add fruit and since it isn’t quite berry season, frozen berries are an easy option. I don’t usually buy organic blueberries, but these were on sale. Taste and price are the biggest drivers of food choices!

My breakfast provides 26 grams of dietary fiber which is about 100% of the fiber recommended for women (recommended fiber intake is 28-34 grams per day). Just 7% of Americans meet the fiber recommendations, increasing risk for many chronic diseases.  My breakfast also gives me 20 grams of protein, and about half of the recommended intake of calcium and twenty percent for potassium…. both identified as shortfall nutrients in the U.S. diet.

My day is off to a good start with cereal. And research backs me up. Cereal is a low-cost, high nutrient choice, delivering nutrients like fiber, folate, Vitamins A, E, B-complex, zinc and iron…several of which are under consumed. Since 90% of cereal is eaten with milk, the nutrients in a cereal and milk breakfast make for a dynamic nutrient duo.

Can breakfast help control weight, blood sugar, and lower risk of cardiovascular disease? Several large studies show an association or link between breakfast eaters and lower risk for developing obesity, for better blood sugar control, and reducing risk of heart disease. Not all studies support these findings and keep in mind that these show an association not a cause between breakfast eating and disease risk.

Everyone should decide if breakfast is the most important meal of the day…. for me, the answer is yes, and for you it might be different.

What Does It Mean For You?

• Consider how you feel in the morning, are you hungry, do you run out of energy mid-morning, if you skip breakfast are you starving by mid-day?
• If you are not a usual breakfast eater but want to start, think of smaller portions. A hard-boiled egg and ½ slice of whole grain toast or cup of oatmeal and a banana might work for you.
• Evaluate your fiber intake, if it is low, like most Americans, a fiber-rich cereal is an easy choice. I know it tastes like shredded cardboard but not when you add it to a tasty cereal and top with fruit.
• Breakfast can be a great way to boost nutrient intake. As we age, our appetites often decrease, so eating breakfast might go a long way in helping you get needed nutrients.

We’ve all probably heard the saying, “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper,” but is it the answer to many chronic diseases? In the words of Ted Kyle “if someone tells you there’s only one right answer for the role of breakfast in health and weight management, you would be right to be skeptical.”

Watch for our next post, C is for Carb Confusion….the perfect next post when someone questions my carbohydrate-rich breakfast! Stay tuned. To follow our blog, click here to subscribe and you will get an email each time a post is published.

Dr. Chris Rosenbloom and Dr. Bob Murray, co-authors of Food & Fitness After 50, use their expertise and education in nutrition and exercise to translate science into easy-to-digest bites to inform and enlighten readers on all things healthy aging. Chris, a nutrition professor
emerita, a registered dietitian, and a gerontologist, and Bob, an exercise physiologist, researcher, and hydration expert, believe it is never too late to eat well, move well, and be well.