Healthy breakfast offers many benefits

With many options available to best suit each person and a list of health benefits, breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day.

Mindy Diller, the registered dietitian at Texas Tech, said breakfast is important and assists in helping the brain and body function.

“General health benefits of eating breakfast would certainly start out with breaking the fast. That’s what breakfast is,” Diller said. “We’ve been fasting from anywhere between 16-18 hours.”

Since bodies go into repair mode while sleeping, including the digestive system, she said waiting to eat affects the overall balance of the day because it impacts the pace at which each meal is eaten.

Diller said she thinks people put too much focus on breakfast being complicated, but it can always be just a simple snack including oatmeal, granola bars, protein drinks, fruit, and toast with avocado or peanut butter on it.

Jonathon Lopez, a sophomore business finance major from San Antonio, never eats breakfast because he said he chooses to sleep longer opposed to waking up to have time to eat. However, Lopez said he does notice the negative effects it has on his day.

“I feel like I don’t have the energy to keep myself going throughout the day,” Lopez said. “I also have the thought I should get something to eat while I’m in class, so I’m not really as focused.”

Eating breakfast will make you more successful in class because it offers the body nutrients to fuel the brain and helps with mental status, Diller said.

“Anytime we put in nutrients, starting with breakfast, then we’re just going to be overall more balanced and well-rounded,” she said.

Yaqiong Zhu, a research assistant for the Department of Nutritional Science, is hosting a study comparing an egg breakfast to a cereal breakfast.

Although cereal may be faster, Zhu said most are highly processed food with added sugar. With that, Zhu said cereal is not the healthiest breakfast option because it does not fill the stomachs, resulting in people being hungry faster or eating bigger meals throughout the day.

For a healthy breakfast or overall good diet, Zhu said a meal should include whole grains, protein and a healthy fat. Examples of healthy fats include nuts, seeds, peanut butter and avocado.

With egg as a protein, Zhu said it also provides the vitamins and minerals to positively impact brain health, vision and muscles.

Alex Rinderknecht, a junior architecture major from Richardson, eats breakfast everyday, with most meals including eggs and a meat.

Rinderknecht said it allows him to gain muscle, and he has successfully gained over 20 pounds. Without breakfast, Rinderknecht said he eats more throughout the day.

With getting home at 8 a.m. from one of his jobs, Kristian Maya, a junior personal financial planning major from McKinney, said he eats breakfast with eggs practically everyday.

“It’s the best way to start the day,” Maya said. “It’s a good energy starter and boost.”

Healthy food choices and better alternatives with tips and tools are available online at www.smartchoices.ttu.edu.

http://www.dailytoreador.com/lavida/healthy-breakfast-offers-students-many-benefits/article_f872c300-d629-11e8-9894-dfc358c87ef3.html