People normally tend to fall into two camps… Camp ‘I can’t leave the house in the morning without eating breakfast’ or camp ‘I can’t face food first thing!’.
No matter what camp you fall into, it’s likely that you have heard different things about the importance of breakfast and that is probably because the research is really mixed. Some research has shown that breakfast is likely to prevent overeating throughout the day whilst other research has seen that those who skip breakfast go on to consume less calories throughout the day…
So what does this tell us?? Well not a lot really! As with so many things with nutrition it is really hard to put a firm answer on to what is ‘best’. One of the big reasons for that is that everybody has a completely different lifestyle, genetics and gut microbiome that can effect results.
Rather then just looking at calories consumption (which should not dictate what you eat!) I love that a recent study has looked at the association between breakfast eating and happiness scores. This study found that those who ate breakfast had higher happiness scores which although could be linked with other things (hello again annoying nutrition science!), it COULD mean that eating breakfast can support happiness throughout the day.
It got me thinking about my breakfast habits and how much they have changed throughout my life. I used to be seriously addicted to cereal and Kellogs crunchy nut clusters were always high up on the list! Although they did make me happy in the short-term, they were sooooo sugary and they definitely had me reaching for more snacks quite soon after them as my body went of a rollercoaster of sugar spikes and falls.
Now I love a protein rich breakfast which is usually made up of eggs (done any way I fancy), avocado and any veg I can find in the fridge! I also occasionally enjoy chia pudding which is another quick and easy source of plant proteins and omega 3.
I have put together a video of what I found I found through my research and also covers a simple chia seed pudding recipe.
Watch the ‘Should you eat breakfast?’ video here!
Overall moral to the story is though that there often isn’t one answer when it comes to nutrition so you often have to do your own little experiments to feel what is good for you! Chances are though, if you go for wholesome, colourful foods that are grown not made (most of the time!) you are already on the right track… Be kind to yourself and listen to what feels good to you.
And if you did (or didn’t!) eat breakfast this morning, I hope you still feel some happy vibes today xx
