Breakfast and Health

So you've heard it before... Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And it's true!

So Beautiful!

A recent study reaffirmed the importance of breakfast on health. The participants of this study were two groups of obese or overweight women who also had metabolic syndrome. The two groups were put on the same lower-calorie diet. The only difference between the two groups was the distribution of the calories throughout the day. One had higher calorie intake in the morning and the other at night. Both groups lost weight on the lower calorie diet, but the breakfast group had...

Lower overall cholesterol and higher good cholesterol
A decreased waist circumference (and that decreases the risk for other chronic diseases)
Improved insulin sensitivity (decreased Type 2 Diabetes risk!)
Less hunger throughout the day
Lost more weight than the other group

You can see that the difference in this study wasn't just weight loss, it was health. Seriously. Eat breakfast! It's good for you.

My personal favorite is oatmeal. It can be a little boring, but here are three ways I like to spice it up.

While preparing oatmeal according to package directions mix in...

1/4 c. Craisins, or any dried fruit. Add in a little brown sugar if you want it sweeter
1/2 c. Applesauce with a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg
1/2 c. Pureed canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) and a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg

Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast, but it's important to find something that will work for you. Here's a great little article geared for parents of school kids that has some good ideas for getting breakfast.

-Genevieve

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