What did you have for breakfast this morning? So many of us believe that its the most important meal of the day, but dont give much thought to what breakfast foods were eating.
That really has to stop.
Here's one of the best nutrition tips Ill ever give you: eating breakfast foods with poor nutritional value set you up for a failure of a day.
On the other hand, a healthy breakfast can fuel you for the day ahead by boosting your metabolism, filling you with energy, and kicking any harmful cravings to the curb.
Whats more, all of this helps you stave off the onset of chronic disease.
Unfortunately, the endless rush of our modern lifestyle means that many of us either skip breakfast or stuff ourselves full of grab-n-go crap for the sake of convenience.
You may save a few minutes by eating breakfast in the car on your way to work, but you're setting yourself up for all kinds of health problems.
Here's a list of the breakfast foods you should be avoiding at all costs.
A List of Very Bad Breakfast Foods
1. Donuts and Pastries
Donuts are addictive little sugar-bombs that are entirely too easy to eat. They're practically made for you to binge distractedly whether you're driving your car or working at your desk.
Make no mistake; they're simply one of the worst breakfast foods around.
One donut contains about 300-550 calories and its jam-packed (sometimes literally) with 30 grams or more of refined sugars.
As such, this small piece of junk food can give you an insulin spike that makes your blood sugar levels surge through the roof.
The resulting blood sugar crash is not pretty, and its exactly why, if youve had a donut for breakfast, youre ready for a nap by 11am.
In the long term, this roller coaster sugar surge can create seriously detrimental metabolic conditions. It overworks your pancreas to counteract your high blood sugar levels and the bodys inability to store more glucose because your glucose stores are already full.
This can lead to insulin resistance and long-term chronic illness.
Eating for energy should be your focus, so fight your inner Homer Simpson and ditch the donuts!
2. Sausage Biscuits
Sausage biscuits are nothing but delivery mechanisms for saturated fat, trans fatty acids and salt. They are seriously no good.
The high sodium chloride in the processed sausage meat can make your blood pressure rise. This can lead to hypertension and this condition is associated to a whole host of chronic diseases such as strokes and heart attacks.
In addition, the nitrates and nitrites in processed meats have been recently been linked to certain cancers.
3. Flavored Non-Dairy Creamer
You might already know that Im no advocate of coffee. Caffeine is dangerous stuff, and dosing yourself with it every day is a recipe for disaster.
I know Im not going to convince everybody not to drink coffee, but I can highlight how bad it isand how youre making it even worse by using non-dairy creamer.
While I celebrate anyones decision not to consume dairy (its unhealthy and we humans really shouldnt be drinking another creatures milk), you should know that non-dairy creamer is pretty bad stuff itself.
Many of the companies that make these flavored non-dairy creamers tend to swap the saturated fats for hydrogenated oils such as trans fatty acids, plus they add refined sugars and artificial sweeteners. Increased consumption of trans fatty acids can lead to a surge in heart attacks, strokes and low density lipoprotein cholesterol blood levels.
One of the biggest problems with trans fatty is that they are used as building blocks for hormones, as replacement for saturated fats. They are less stable and this is a big catalyst for hormonal imbalances which can lead to all kinds of health problems.
Dont even get me started on just how bad the refined sugars are. Many of these beverages are packed with more sugar than a bowl of fruit loops.
For example, a 16 oz mocha has 8 teaspoons of sugar. This sugary start to the day can lead to heightened mid-morning crashes.
Instead of reaching for a coffee with non-dairy creamer in it (or any coffee, really) how about you try a peppermint tea with almond milk instead? There are so many caffeine-free teas you can try; let one of them provide you with that warm, satisfying cup of goodness you're need each morning.
4. Kids Cereals
Who can blame children for wanting those colorful boxes of cereal that line the supermarket shelves?
The cartoon mascots on so many of these boxes promise breakfasts filled with fun and delight, but whats really hiding in those cereal bits are blasts of hyperactivity.
This isnt just my opinion. The FDA has made a connection between the dyes within these nasty cereals and hyperactivity. In fact, these dyes are so bad that they were recently banned from all foods by the European Union.
You should do the same thing; if you read the label of a breakfast cereal box and cant pronounce any of the ingredients, then ban it from your breakfast table!
5. Waffles, White Bread & Muffins
Waffles, white bread and muffins are very popular breakfast choices that are super tasty, but are also high in one terrible ingredient: white flour.
White flour lacks important nutrients such as filling fibre and protein. Its also packed with glutena definite no-no.
You might be wondering what you can eat if all of these commonly eaten breakfast foods are bad for you. I have a good answer for that, and science has my back.
Research has indicated that an egg or protein based breakfast can burn up to 65% more calories and belly fat when compared to a carb-rich breakfast of the same calorie content.
Thats right; not only do breakfast foods not have to be fattening, they can even be a major part of your fat burning diet!
This study postulated that carb rich breakfasts only provided half as much satiety as their protein rich counterparts, which made it harder for the dieters to stick to their weight loss goals
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