Choosing a Better Breakfast

You've probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. After going without food for several hours overnight, your body needs to replenish nutrients and energy for the day ahead.

Why Breakfast Is Important

Despite the fact that breakfast is vital to our well-being, many people skip it. The reasons vary. Those who work or go to school in the morning may not leave enough time to eat, or they might choose to spend that time sleeping a little longer. Some people don't feel hungry when they wake up. Others may believe skipping breakfast helps with weight loss.

While these may seem like good reasons to forego the morning meal, eating breakfast replenishes glucose the liver breaks down and releases into the bloodstream overnight to keep blood sugar levels stable. For those who want to lose weight, balancing glucose levels by eating breakfast helps control the appetite.

Making Better Breakfast Choices

Eating in the morning is important, but so is eating the right foods. While it may be tempting to grab something sugary and convenient, loading up on less-wholesome food or drinks at the beginning of the day will lead to a sugar crash and poor food choices later on. You can create a good breakfast by swapping out unhealthy selections with better ones.

Choosing Healthy Protein

Protein is an essential breakfast addition. If you normally eat yogurt, try plain, fat-free yogurt with fruit in place of a highly sweetened variety. Chocolate milk can be made with sugar-free powder instead of syrup; choose a kind that has added vitamins and minerals for an added bonus. Turkey bacon and sausage are good protein choices that are lower in fat than pork. Eggs, a traditional breakfast food, are an excellent source of protein.

Other healthy protein sources include chicken, beans and legumes. While not customary breakfast foods, they will power up your meal just the same. Nuts, nut butter and seeds are high in protein and healthy, unsaturated fats.

Grains That Are Good for You

Whole grains are a good breakfast choice. They are loaded with minerals, provide antioxidant benefits and restore healthy carbohydrates to your system. Toast, waffles, biscuits and tortillas can be found in whole-wheat varieties and will keep you feeling full longer than those made with refined flour. Oatmeal has fiber, plant-based protein, lots of vitamins and minerals and is an excellent choice for the first meal of the day.

If you're eating a gluten-free diet, you will need to pay attention to the ingredients in your grain-based breakfast options. Oatmeal may seem like a go-to choice for those avoiding gluten. You may be wondering, though: is oatmeal gluten free and safe to eat? Oats are naturally gluten free, but they are sometimes grown alongside other grains, such as wheat, rye and barley, or are processed or transported with gluten-containing products. These oats will be cross-contaminated and unsafe for people needing to avoid gluten. Consumers avoiding gluten are advised to read the labels on oat products before buying them. The Food and Drug Administration only allows foods containing 20 parts per million of gluten or less to be labeled as gluten-free; these trace amounts are generally not harmful to those sensitive to gluten.

Other good whole-grain choices for breakfast include quinoa, buckwheat, sorghum, brown rice and corn.

The Power of Fruits and Vegetables

Rich in vitamins and minerals, vegetables and fruits not only power up any meal but also add bulk, keeping you full. They can be eaten as a side dish or added to just about any breakfast staple. Spinach and tomato omelets, fruit-topped cereal or oatmeal, avocado toast and fruit smoothies are just a few of the ways to include fruits and vegetables in your breakfast.

If you're not accustomed to eating a healthy meal first thing in the morning — or even eating breakfast at all — you might be hesitant to make the effort. It doesn't have to be difficult, though. Try making it the night before or taking it with you. No matter how you eat it, a healthy breakfast is an investment that will pay off for the rest of the day.