What is the deal with breakfast?

You woke up fifteen minutes late, you needed to leave your house five minutes ago, and you’re trying to put on your pants two legs at a time! The clock is ticking and you are in a hurry to start your busy day! You quickly grab a piece of fruit on the counter or even decide to skip your first meal of the day. The Cleveland Clinic reports that 25% of Americans skip breakfast in the morning and many of them report lack of time as their reason for doing so.

Though it may be tempting or a habit to skip breakfast in the morning, this blog post will ask you to reconsider. You may have heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it is for a good reason! Eating breakfast positively affects your body and health. In this blog post, we’ll share only a few of the many benefits of breakfast, alongside some quick, easy, and nutritious breakfast ideas.

Heart

Studies show that those who do not eat breakfast have a significantly higher risk of high cholesterol than those who do eat breakfast. High cholesterol levels increase the risk of heart disease by forming plaque in the walls of your arteries and blocking or narrowing the flow of blood in your vessels. Eating fiber-rich breakfast foods, like low-fat yogurt, fruit, whole grain cereals, and oats, reduces cholesterol.

Brain

Your body uses blood sugar more effectively in the morning. The word breakfast literally means “to break a fast.” A fast is a period of time where you don’t eat, such as when you’re asleep. By the time you wake up, most of your body’s energy is depleted. When you eat a meal in the morning, the body latches onto any food resources that raise your blood sugar and it breaks down that sugar into energy to fuel your body for the rest of the day. Low blood sugar causes irritability, fatigue, and brain fog.

One study showed that adolescents who ate a high quality breakfast had lower levels of stress and depression compared to adolescents who skipped breakfasts. Your brain decreases the amount of stress hormone it makes when you break your fast with carbohydrates. Eating breakfast also provides the brain the resources to produce serotonin, the chemical in the brain that boosts your mood.

Multiple studies show that eating breakfast boosts concentration, memory, alertness, and problem-solving skills. One particular study reported that college students who ate breakfast scored 22% higher on a word-recall test compared to students who skipped breakfast. A study conducted by Harvard reported that kids who ate breakfast performed 40% better in their math class and improved their school attendance compared to kids who did not eat breakfast.

Body

Eating a high-quality, nutrient-rich breakfast positively impacts your digestion and bone development. Alongside lowering cholesterol, fiber-rich foods helps your digestion run smoothly by keeping your bowel movements regular. Additionally, soluble fibers, found in oats, wheat, fruits, and beans, slow down the digestion process and allow your body to absorb more nutrients from the food you eat.

Many breakfast foods contain calcium and vitamin D. Both calcium and vitamin D promote healthy bones. Vitamin D allows the body to effectively process calcium, and calcium aids in building bones and keeping them strong and dense. Calcium-fortified orange juice, oatmeal, and cereal provide calcium. Milk (both dairy and non-diary), yogurt, egg yolk, and cheese provide vitamin D.

Breakfast Ideas for Busy Mornings

The Cleveland Clinic recommends that you eat breakfast within the first two hours of waking up, but we understand that the morning is a time-crunch for many people. We compiled the following healthy, quick, and easy breakfast ideas that all take 10 minutes or less.