Many years ago, nutritionists considered breakfast as the most important meal of the day, since many hours of fasting were spent during the night. Breakfast is the energy intake that the body needs to get active first thing in the morning.
However, in recent years, studies have emerged that question its importance, especially when it comes to maintaining an adequate weight.
According to the Spanish Nutrition Foundation, the most common breakfasts in Spain are:
- 12.24% of the population drinks only liquids (coffee, milk, yogurt or tea).
- 1.74% add juices or fruit to these drinks.
- 57.64% eat pastries, bread, cereals or cookies, accompanied by some liquid.
- A 9.71% of Spaniards drink liquids and eat fruit, bread, cookies, pastries or cereals.
- 15.31% opt for other types of breakfasts.
- 3.36% of Spaniards do not even eat breakfast.
What would be the correct way to start the day and eat breakfast?
The Spanish Society of Community Nutrition (SENC) recently made some changes in the food pyramid that have generated controversy, as it was shown that the previous version contained errors. In the design, carbohydrates (pasta, legumes and cereals) were placed at the base of the diet. But this is now outdated. It has been shown, for example, that packaged cereals contain a lot of sugar, which promotes diseases such as childhood obesity. This means that these foods can be consumed daily but in varying amounts, always in whole grain or wholemeal variants.
The best thing would be, then, to have a complex carbohydrate for breakfast (with wholemeal flour), accompanied by some protein containing small amounts of fat. In this way, the sugar in bread is absorbed slowly and stimulates insulin less.
How important is breakfast?
As mentioned above, people have long been talking about the importance of breakfast because it is the first energy intake of the day, but many people have no appetite first thing in the morning.
But there are many people who have no appetite first thing in the morning, so is it bad to spend so many hours fasting? The reality is that not always, and some recent studies show a relationship between prolonged fasting and more effective weight loss. It is important to note that this practice cannot be used universally and that each organism has its own needs, so it does not respond in the same way.
Are five meals a day equally important?
The idea of 5 meals a day, just like eating four pieces of fruit or drinking two liters of water, are myths. In reality, eating five meals a day is not far from “snacking”. The right thing to do would be to listen to our body and eat with hunger, without confusing it with eating on a whim. Many people eat to control their anxiety, which leads to bad eating habits and easy weight gain.
Can breakfast help fight obesity?
The importance of breakfast is therefore relative. What is important in any meal is what we eat. If a person always eats processed products for breakfast, such as industrial pastries or cookies, he or she will be promoting obesity. One food that has been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of obesity is extra virgin olive oil, so it would be important to include it in toast at breakfast, for example.
The risk factors for obesity can be summarized as follows:
- Genetics. Obesity has a hereditary component and little can be done about it.
- Life habits. Healthy lifestyle habits, such as exercising at least one hour daily, prevent the risk of obesity.
- Processed foods. A perfect diet would be one that eliminates, as far as possible, food prepared with trans fats, refined flours and large amounts of sugar.
What mistakes do we make when we eat?
The main mistake we make is at the supermarket. We are guided by the products that we have seen in advertisements but we do not pay attention to the small print of the ingredients. The food industry will always try to hide important information. Consumers should forget about processed products and opt for fresher products, especially fruits and vegetables.
What should an ideal diet be like?
The diet should be adapted to the hormonal characteristics of each person. Not all people have the same insulin level and this is a factor that should be taken into account, for example. It is not so much following personalized diets as having the nutritionist and endocrinologist review the patient’s medical history and, based on that, being able to come up with a good eating routine.