Milk + Egg + Vegetables + Staple Food = The Ideal Breakfast. Add a fruit, and you have the "Golden Breakfast".
"The plan for the day is made in the morning," and breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is especially true for students in their growth and development phase, as a well-balanced and nutritious breakfast is a crucial guarantee for efficient morning studies. While many parents have started to pay attention to preparing nutritious breakfasts for their children, they often struggle with what to serve and how. To address this, Health Times has invited authoritative nutrition experts to give a "Nutrition Breakfast Masterclass" for parents with school-aged children. It's better to eat well than to eat a lot.
Upon waking in the morning, although the stomach is empty, some children don't feel hungry due to low activity levels and thus skip breakfast. Additionally, some students have early school hours, leaving little time for a proper meal. Therefore, breakfast doesn't need to be a large quantity of food; high-quality and well-balanced staple and non-staple foods are sufficient.
Drinking milk daily is the best way to supplement calcium (Although people have different views on milk, moderation and appropriateness are important dietary principles, and it is necessary for a child's growth—Editor's Note). Every 100ml of milk contains 120mg of calcium. Drinking 250ml of milk daily provides 300mg of calcium, which is 40% of the calcium supply standard recommended by the Chinese Nutrition Society. By supplementing with another 50% of the required calcium from other foods, the basic need is met. Furthermore, it's best to have an egg for breakfast. Eggs are rich in all the essential nutrients and active substances for life, making them the best choice for a human breakfast.
Some parents give their children a large breakfast early in the morning, including not just milk and eggs, but also steamed buns, fried dough sticks, hamburgers, chocolate, and more, believing that eating more "fills you up for longer." However, overeating can actually hinder morning studies. According to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents, the calorie sources for a nutritious breakfast should include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, with a ratio close to 1:0.7:5. It should also provide various essential vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, zinc, and iron. As appetite is often poor in the morning, parents should try to arrange for breakfast items that are attractive in color, aroma, flavor, and appearance. Breakfast menus should also be varied. Vegetables and fruits are essential.
If milk, eggs, vegetables, and a staple food are considered the standard for an ideal breakfast, then adding a fruit makes it a "Golden Breakfast." However, surveys show that vegetables and fruits are the most common missing items in student breakfasts. Staple foods, eggs, meat, and dairy products are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, and fats but are high in sulfur and phosphorus, making them acidic foods. In contrast, vegetables and fruits are alkaline foods, rich in carotene, various water-soluble vitamins, and many nutrients like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. If students eat too many acidic foods for breakfast without alkaline foods to neutralize them, it can lead to slightly acidic blood, making it difficult to concentrate for the entire morning. Therefore, vegetables are a must for breakfast. You can choose some refreshing options like assorted pickles, cucumber salad, or sugar-dressed tomatoes. Eating a certain amount of vegetables not only helps maintain the acid-base balance of the blood and reduce gastrointestinal pressure but also provides the body with essential vitamins, which is very beneficial for students' healthy development. Additionally, if possible, it's best to add a vitamin-rich fruit to breakfast. You must eat staple foods for breakfast.
Many parents just give their child a glass of milk and an egg for breakfast, some even two or three, believing this provides enough nutrition and energy for the morning. But I must tell these parents that they are making a big mistake and need to quickly "catch up" on their nutrition knowledge.
Why do I say this? Because the energy provided by milk and eggs is very low. If a child only has an egg and a glass of milk for breakfast, they will start feeling hungry before 10 AM. Every 100g of milk and egg provides 45 kcal and 151 kcal, respectively. A breakfast of 250ml of milk and 50g of egg provides only 210 kcal of energy. According to the Chinese Dietary Guidelines for Residents, a reasonable breakfast should provide about 30% of the body's daily energy needs. The 210 kcal from just milk and eggs is far from 30%. Therefore, in addition to milk and eggs, breakfast must include staple foods. This is because staple foods like rice and flour are high-energy foods. Every 100g of flour provides 342 kcal, and every 100g of refined rice provides 338 kcal, nearly seven times that of milk. Trying to meet energy needs by eating more eggs and dairy products is not only difficult but also leads to a waste of energy. Furthermore, students use their brains during morning classes, and the sole energy source for brain cells is glucose. The carbohydrates in staple foods break down to provide a direct and ample supply of glucose. However, staple foods should not be over-eaten; an appropriate portion for a meal is 50-100g. Breakfast should be eaten like an "emperor's".
As the saying goes, "Eat breakfast like an emperor." However, some parents only focus on filling their child's stomach to prevent hunger, without much concern for whether the breakfast is nutritious enough. But for students with heavy academic loads, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Its quality not only affects the intake of energy and nutrients for the entire day but also impacts their cognitive abilities, academic performance, and normal physical development.
Moreover, we have found that for various reasons, many students cannot eat breakfast every day, and many have it hastily on the go. Some parents believe that if breakfast isn't great, they can make up for it by eating more and better at lunch or dinner. This is a significant misconception.
According to surveys, students who consistently eat a good, hearty breakfast every day tend to have better physical and functional development. They are robust, energetic in class, and have high learning efficiency. Conversely, students who don't have a filling breakfast often start feeling hungry during the second period class and cannot concentrate by the third. Students who skip breakfast usually start hearing their stomachs "rumble" during the first class. After intense mental or physical activity, they are likely to experience "hypoglycemia" symptoms such as limb weakness, slow thinking, paleness, palpitations, and excessive sweating.