Breakfast should be eaten within two hours of waking up. However, it's easy to let breakfast fall low on your list of priorities, but taking just a few minutes to have something to eat can really make a difference to your day.
Breakfast provides the body and brain with fuel after an overnight fast - that's where its name originates, breaking the fast! Without breakfast, you are effectively running on empty, like trying to start the car with no petrol.
Breakfast provides many benefits to our health and wellbeing which includes:
Source of nutrients
Breakfast foods are good sources of important nutrients such as calcium, iron and B vitamins as well as protein and fibre. The body needs these essential nutrients and if missed at breakfast, they are less likely to be compensated for later in the day. Fruit and vegetables are good sources of vitamins and minerals so try to include a portion of them in your daily breakfast, whether that be a banana or glass of fruit juice.
Weight maintenance
Breakfast can be good for waistline too, research shows those who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight and more likely to be within their ideal weight range compared with breakfast skippers. If you skip breakfast, you're more likely to reach for high sugar and fatty snacks mid-morning.
Cognitive function
Breakfast also restores glucose levels, an essential carbohydrate that is needed for the brain to function. Breakfast can improve memory and concentration levels and it can also make us happier as it can improve mood and lower stress levels. In studies amongst children, breakfast can improve attainment, behavior and has been linked to improved grades. Just like any other organ in the body, the brain needs the energy to work at it's best!
Energy needs
People's energy needs vary depending on activity levels and life stage but typically men require more energy than women. Growing children require a lot of energy, as an example boys aged 7-10yrs should consume approx. 1970 kcals per day and girls aged 7-10yrs should consume approx. 1740 kcals. For adults, men require approx. 2500 kcals and women approx. 2000 kcals per day.
Long-term health
Breakfast is an excellent occasion to eat together as a family when possible. Establishing good breakfast habits in childhood and maintaining them throughout adolescence may be an important factor in reducing the prevalence of breakfast skipping and developing good eating habits that last a lifetime. So, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day!