After a night's sleep, the body's stored glucose is depleted, and energy and nutrients are urgently needed. However, many people do not pay attention to eating breakfast, often just eating something casual or skipping it altogether. This is indeed convenient, but the impact on health is immeasurable. Whether one eats breakfast and how to combine its varieties are extremely important for human health.
Breakfast Eater Group
Ms. Chen, who is particularly mindful of dietary nutrition, has now become a fervent lover of vegetarian breakfast. "I use yeast powder, black sesame powder, milk powder, almond powder, Job's tears powder, brown rice powder, raisins, and so on, mixed together to make a thick porridge. Later, I heard others say that eating fruit in the morning is gold, at noon is silver, and in the evening is copper, so I also added fruit to the breakfast menu." In addition, Ms. Chen's breakfast also includes a bottle of yogurt, a little lettuce, one boiled egg, and two slices of toasted whole wheat bread. Because she eats a lot for breakfast, Ms. Chen does not feel too hungry at noon.
Nutritionist's Comments: Overall, this breakfast is rich and balanced. The yeast powder in the thick porridge is a good source of B vitamins, and this way of eating is a good choice for vegetarians.
After a night's sleep, the body's stored glucose is depleted, and energy and nutrients are urgently needed. However, many people do not pay attention to eating breakfast, often just eating something casual or skipping it altogether. This is indeed convenient, but the impact on health is immeasurable. Whether one eats breakfast and how to combine its varieties are extremely important for human health.
Shao Bing and You Tiao Group
As more and more people turn to Western-style breakfast, Ms. Zhang, an editor at a magazine, still has a special fondness for the traditional Chinese breakfast of Shao Bing (sesame seed pancake), You Tiao (fried dough stick), and soy milk. "I often ate You Tiao when I was a child. When I grew up, I thought it was unhealthy because it's fried, so now I choose Shao Bing for breakfast."
Nutritionist's Comments: Shao Bing, You Tiao, radish cakes, and pan-fried dumplings all have the problem of being high in oil. The oil on You Tiao is visible, so people are cautious when eating it. However, people often think that Shao Bing is baked and doesn't have a greasy surface, so its calories and oil content must be lower, but that's not necessarily the case. The reason Shao Bing is fragrant and crispy is because a lot of oil is added during its preparation. The calorie content of one Shao Bing is about 230-250 calories, of which about 25% comes from fat. Coupled with soy milk, which is also a medium-fat food, the oil content of this combination is excessively high. The combination of Shao Bing and You Tiao provides a decent amount of protein, but it has too much low-quality fat.
Nutritionist's Advice: This type of breakfast is high in calories and fat, so it should not be eaten more than once a week. Moreover, lunch and dinner on that day must be as light as possible, and no more fried or stir-fried foods should be consumed. This type of breakfast also lacks vegetables, so they should be supplemented in the other two meals. As for fruit, it depends on personal habit; you can have one serving, or skip it in the morning and have one serving each at noon and in the afternoon. Buy unsweetened soy milk and add your own sugar to taste. The sesame seeds on Shao Bing are usually not chewed thoroughly, and when swallowed, they can stick to the stomach wall, easily causing stomach pain for some people, so please be careful when eating.
After a night's sleep, the body's stored glucose is depleted, and energy and nutrients are urgently needed. However, many people do not pay attention to eating breakfast, often just eating something casual or skipping it altogether. This is indeed convenient, but the impact on health is immeasurable. Whether one eats breakfast and how to combine its varieties are extremely important for human health.
Western-Style Breakfast Group
On the ground floor of an office building, there is a Western-style fast-food restaurant. Therefore, "a ham and egg sandwich with a cup of milk tea" is almost the unbreakfast routine for Mr. Chen, a manager in the planning department of a foreign-funded company, from Monday to Friday. Compared to lunch and dinner, he feels that breakfast is just to provide the energy needed for work in the morning. "I can't be bothered to think about what to change for breakfast," he admitted frankly.
Nutritionist's Comments: The fat intake may be too high. First, the patty in Western-style fast food has a high fat content. If you make it at home, you can choose leaner meat with less fat to reduce the proportion of fatty meat. Secondly, whether it's the ham in a sandwich or the meat in a burger, it's pan-fried. Add to that a fried egg and a thick layer of high-fat salad dressing or cream, unless the other two meals of the day are low in oil and meat, the total fat intake for the day is excessive. Coffee and milk tea are another problem. Milk tea should never replace milk because it contains very little milk and has added sugar. A better choice is to pair it with low-fat milk. As for drinking coffee in the morning, it's a matter of personal habit and doesn't necessarily have to be removed from breakfast. Drinking coffee and tea in the morning can not only refresh you but also, for those who drink little or are not addicted, it can stimulate bowel movements and slightly relieve constipation. However, avoid drinking black coffee on an empty stomach as it can harm the stomach.
Nutritionist's Advice: This type of breakfast has little vegetables, so they should be supplemented more at lunch and dinner. Limit coffee to two cups a day. However, it's best to drink tea and coffee two hours before or after a meal, as it can affect the body's absorption of iron, so try not to drink it with meals. This type of breakfast tends to be high in fat, so it should not be eaten more than three times a week.
It is recommended not to order a combo meal; for example, if you eat a burger, don't also have french fries. Choose a small orange juice or milk for your drink instead of sugary soda. Also, avoid fried or stir-fried foods for lunch and dinner that day, and try to choose boiled or steamed cooking methods.
After a night's sleep, the body's stored glucose is depleted, and energy and nutrients are urgently needed. However, many people do not pay attention to eating breakfast, often just eating something casual or skipping it altogether. This is indeed convenient, but the impact on health is immeasurable. Whether one eats breakfast and how to combine its varieties are extremely important for human health.
Bread and Milk Group
Ms. Lin, an accountant at a trading company, often has pineapple bread, red bean paste bread, or cream bread for breakfast, and drinks a bottle of milk, sometimes with coffee. Because it's convenient, many families use this model for breakfast.
Nutritionist's Comments: Filled breads, whether sweet or savory, contain a lot of fat and sugar. They are also highly processed and have low nutritional value, making them unsuitable for breakfast. One drawback of a breakfast with too much sugar is that it causes your blood sugar to rise quickly and then fall, and it can fall to a low level. By 10 a.m., your energy levels may start to decline.
A good breakfast combination should include both carbohydrates and protein, and it's best to eat complex carbohydrates like whole wheat bread or oatmeal, which can help stabilize blood sugar. Toast bread might seem "safer" as it's not filled and doesn't have powdered sugar, but for bread to be tasty, it can't be low in oil. Especially soft and creamy fresh milk toast or egg toast, which require more oil during production. As for the butter, jam, or peanut butter spread on toast, peanut butter is also high in calories and fat, so it should be used sparingly.
Nutritionist's Advice: For children over two and adults, you can switch to low-fat or skim milk to reduce the total daily fat intake. Filled breads are high in calories and fat, so don't eat them often. If you want something sweet, you might consider spreading a small spoonful of jam on toast. Also, you can often change the type of jam you spread on toast to avoid accumulating trans fatty acids (from butter), aflatoxin (from peanut butter), and sugar (from jam) daily, and use less. Two slices of toast with peanut butter or butter, or one slice of low-fat cheese, plus a bottle of low-fat milk or yogurt is a more appropriate choice. If you have time, adding some lettuce, tomato, and cucumber will make the nutrition more balanced.