From falling asleep to waking up is the longest fasting period of the day, during which blood sugar is between 70-120 mg/dL. When the body becomes active, muscles need sugar, and when blood sugar drops to 60-65 mg/dL, hunger is felt. If no breakfast is supplied to maintain blood sugar, the blood sugar required by muscles and the brain must come from muscle protein, which is converted into sugar for consumption. However, muscles usually cannot supply enough blood sugar, so the brain's blood sugar remains low, leading to fatigue, slow reactions, lack of concentration, listlessness, falling behind in studies, and reduced work ability.
The contribution of breakfast to the body's nutrition is beyond question, and its impact on learning ability and conduct has also been confirmed in recent years.
A study by experts on the exam results of 1000 elementary school students in grades 3-6 pointed out that students who eat breakfast have better grades than those who do not. Moreover, the amount and content of breakfast are also related to academic performance.
For adults, eating breakfast can also help maintain body weight. A report involving 52 obese women found that eating breakfast reduced daily fat intake and the frequency of snacking. However, many people who want to lose weight fall into the misconception that skipping breakfast is the key to weight loss. [Food China]
Breakfast is also related to blood cholesterol. Two experimental reports have indicated that people who skip breakfast have higher blood cholesterol than those who eat breakfast. A study on young people aged 9 to 19 found that those who eat a high-fiber breakfast have lower blood cholesterol than those who do not.
This depends on your age, activity level, and health. A growing young person or a pregnant woman can have a substantial breakfast, such as bread, eggs or meat, juice, and milk. For adults, bread, steamed buns, skim milk, fresh fruit, or juice are sufficient. Eggs are very nutritious; to avoid excessive cholesterol intake, an average of three eggs per week is enough. If you like high-fat, high-saturated fatty meats like bacon or sausages, having them occasionally is fine.
Breakfast should not be the same every day, nor does it need to be rigid. Eating leftovers from the previous night, yogurt and fruit, fried rice, or noodles for breakfast are all acceptable. [Food China]
Chinese breakfasts, whether congee with pickles, or soy milk with youtiao (fried dough sticks), are not nutritionally ideal. If you like congee, you can add millet or red beans and cook it to a thicker consistency. This can increase the amount of protein, minerals, and fiber. Side dishes like pickled vegetables are mainly for stimulating the appetite but contain too much sodium and are not very beneficial. You should add meat floss, eggs, century eggs, salted duck eggs, or peanuts, dried tofu, etc., to increase protein intake. If you are still hungry after the meal, you can add fruit. If you prefer soy milk with youtiao, you can also add eggs, or have it with leftovers from the previous day, such as fish, meat, or vegetables. Finishing with fruit is the most ideal.
It is well known that weight loss can only be achieved by consuming less energy than is expended. People who skip breakfast have to endure hunger all morning, and once they get a chance to eat, they tend to overeat or consume high-sugar, high-fat snacks before lunch. When the total for the day is calculated, they end up consuming more energy than if they had spread their daily intake over 3 to 4 meals. This way, blood sugar does not fluctuate wildly, and excessive hunger is avoided, making it easier to control food intake. It's no wonder that overweight people are often those who skip breakfast.