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Is It Really A Healthy Breakfast Food? Maybe Yes, Maybe No…
Written by Wellness Club on July 25, 2018 – 11:55 am -People often email us to ask about articles they have read, wanting to know our opinion or sometimes to wanting to challenge us with a contrary opinion.
One reader recently wrote to ask about an article titled “The 20 Best Things To Eat For Breakfast” which is fairly representative of an awful lot of nutrition articles that circulate the internet.
This reader proudly announced that he was “rocking” the Greek yoghurt and fruit smoothies and planning to add in “wheat oats” too, and wanted to know what we think of that.
I’ll share my reply to our reader with you:
Great to hear that you are working on improving your diet!
This article, like many, has some pearls of truth and wisdom in it and also some seriously bad advice too.
You may have noticed that if you start your day with a glass of orange juice and a scone or donut or toast & tea or bowl of oatmeal or a fruit smoothie you have a burst of energy, and then you are likely falling face forward into your desk in fatigue and sleepiness by mid morning.
That is because those things provide a quick burst of carbohydrates that wears off very quickly, leading to a crashing low blood sugar level, fatigue, crankiness, jitters, and so on.
In our opinion (which is supported by a very large body of conventional medical research) the first meal of the day should be high protein, high fat, high fiber, and as low in carbohydrates as possible. That will give a much smoother energy release through the morning for better energy and cognition.
If you look through our website and HealthBeatNews articles you will have seen that we are very much advocates of a low-carbohydrate diet for every reason. Here is one article from last year: http://healthbeatnews.com/are-you-low-carb-very-low-carb-or-ketogenic/
We are also very much down on sugars in any form: http://healthbeatnews.com/common-food-ingredient-makes-you-stupid/
And, here is a resource that we direct all of our patients to so that they can look up their foods and plan diets and meals properly: http://nutritiondata.self.com/
You can enter your age and weight and activity level and get a fairly good idea of your nutritional needs – though their carbohydrate recommendations tend to be on the high side.
I grabbed the list of the “recommended” breakfast foods from the article you referenced and will put a brief comment with each:
Oatmeal – very high carbohydrate but does contain some minimal amounts of fiber. In our opinion not a really good deal dietarily and not a great breakfast choice.
Greek yogurt – fine as long as you are careful to purchase non-flavored / non-sweetened. Check the labels carefully.
Wheat germ – OK as a garnish.
Grapefruit – We love grapefruit, but we eat it just as one might eat an orange – just peel it and enjoy the segments – no sugar or sweetening. And, as with everything, moderation is good – a couple of grapefruit a week is probably as much fructose (fruit sugar) as you need.
Bananas – delicious – and loaded with sugar, very little fiber, and no you cannot get any meaningful amount of potassium from them without eating a boat-load. They are essentially candy.
Eggs – Ah, what can be said about nature’s most perfect food. Eggs, in any form are wonderful – low-carb, high protein, good fats, and quick and easy to prepare. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.
Almond butter – wonderful – far healthier than peanut butter which can also harbor aflatoxin – one of the most toxic substances around. The problem with almond butter is that people like to put it on bread or crackers, which are super high-carb / low-nutrition foods.
Watermelon – Not good, not bad. If you love it then enjoy it in moderation. Surprisingly high in sugar.
Flaxseed – Wonderful! Please try our flax bread recipe – 4 ingredients, cooks in a microwave in 3 minutes, and tastes great – a perfect substitute to any wheat-based bread. http://drmyattswellnessclub.com/MyattBreadRecipe1.htm
Blueberries – A healthy and delightful garnish – read the labels as many frozen brands have sugar added. Fresh blueberries are a wonderful treat!
Strawberries – fresh strawberries are delightful and one or two in a whey protein shake (smoothie) are a great addition – but again, as with all fruit they can be high in sugar so moderation is your friend.
Coffee – Ah… the world runs on coffee… and it is surprisingly a very healthy beverage. Many people obtain their largest portion of daily antioxidants and some other trace nutrients from their coffee intake. Never feel guilty about having another cup of coffee! But avoid those flavored creamers – read the labels and note that most are full of sugar, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Try real ‘Heavy Cream’ or ‘Whipping Cream’ instead for a nice treat.
Tea – see above – all the comments for coffee apply to tea as well, for those that prefer tea.
Cantaloupe – See the comments for watermelon.
Kiwi – see the comments for strawberry.
Orange juice – Ewww… Ick! Avoid this slop like the plague! An occasional small serving of truly fresh-squeezed OJ is OK, but the store-bought, processed, “fortified” stuff is mostly sugar-water. You might as well drink soda-pop!
A further strike against OJ is a study linking it to skin cancer: http://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.2014.57.4111
Now to be fair, this is correlation, not causation, and the NHS (British National Health Service) has a discussion about it: https://www.nhs.uk/news/cancer/orange-juice-and-grapefruit-linked-to-melanoma-skin-cancer/
Cranberry juice – most store-bought cranberry juice you will encounter is, like OJ, mostly flavored sugar water.
Cereal – No, never. Ever. Not. Under no circumstances. Almost all cereals are high carbohydrate, low fiber, and generally devoid of any redeeming health value, no matter what the advertising says. Read the nutrition label and take note of the carbohydrate content.
Raspberries – delightful – see the comments for strawberries.
Whole-wheat bread – No, never. Ever. Not. Well, OK – maybe a small bit as a treat sometimes, but I do so knowing why it is bad for me: http://drmyattswellnessclub.com/GliadinCasein.html
And one bonus – the article author spoke glowingly about pouring skim milk on that bowl of breakfast cereal with fruit… and our reply to skim milk is: No, never. Ever. Not. Skim milk is mostly just white colored sugar-water, with most of the valuable parts of milk removed. If you must drink milk, please drink whole milk without the cream removed. And review the article above to see some of the problems with cows-milk.
Oh, and soy-milk? Again, No, never. Ever. Not. Soy is estrogenic. Estrogen is mostly a female hormone and not a good thing for us fellows to have too much of (can you say “man-boobs”?). Almond milk? Maybe – check the label and make sure it hasn’t had a bunch of sugar added to it.
So there you have it – the good, the bad, and the ugly of someone else’s list of recommended breakfast foods.
We say, do you like steak and eggs for breakfast? Have at it – just hold the bread and potatoes!
A quick scrambled eggs or a cheese omelet? Excellent choice! Dice up a few bits of ham, throw in a few chopped onion bits, and you have a great breakfast in just minutes.
Looking for something quick and easy like a smoothie that you can “grab ‘n’ go”? Try our “Super Shake” for a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast drink that you can take with you on your morning commute.
Please note that the Maxi Fiber we refer to is currently unavailable but you can substitute Psyllium for a healthy blast of fiber.
There is an old saying: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper.”
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