Importance of Breakfast

Breakfast is considered as the most important meal of the day as it gives us the much needed energy after a night s sleep. But we often ignore it as we are in a hurry. Skipping breakfast often leads to poor concentration, irritability, low blood sugar levels and a high craving for food in midmorning or lunch. This results in overeating and weight gain. In fact it would be easier to control your weight by eating smaller meals and healthy snacks more frequently than skipping any meal.The rush hour of the morning, kids going off to school, adults running to work, the sufferer is the breakfast, often skipped, more often underrated. Breakfast should be a healthy, balanced, well rounded meal. If time is the constraint, some amount of preparing can be done in the night, to save on precious minutes in the morning. Cereals are a good idea for those who don t have the time or the energy to cook in the morning. Coupled with skimmed milk or juices, it takes care of energy, cereal goodness and all other nutrients too. In fact many ready to eat cereals are fortified with more vitamin and iron, and hence are more nutritious than any other food. To make sure that you are eating sensibly for breakfast, avoid too much sugar or caffeine preferably not more than one cup of coffee . A whole-wheat toast with eggs or low fat cheese with fresh juice or some other fruit, like a banana, and low fat milk can be a good breakfast. Eggs are an all time good idea for a healthy breakfast, more so if they are boiled or poached, hence less on oil. In India, there are variety of breakfast items available which are nutritious and provide the required amount of energy to sustain throughout the day. Breakfast foods differ from region to region. Some other options are given here- Idli and dosa made from rice and pulse, it gives good amount of energy and proteins and if had with Vegetable sambar, it contributes to vitamins and minerals. Upma there are varieties of upma prepared, most of them with semolina which is energy rich. However Upma prepared with broken wheat and vegetables is very nutritious because of its fiber content. Sandwiches prepared with vegetables/shredded chicken and brown bread is a complete breakfast food containing all the vital nutrients and of course fibre. For those people who are looking to lose weight, cheese or mayonnaise should be avoided. Bread omlet is a high protein breakfast food and very much recommended especially for children, atheletes and those who are looking to build muscles. However people with cholesterol or any heart problems should prepare the omlet only with egg white Oats with milk and fruits Oats is gaining lots of popularity these days owing to its high content of soluble fibre and its benefit in reducing cholesterol in the body. So oats with skimmed milk and fresh fruits are a very good option especially for those who are on a weight reduction diet. Stuffed parathas if prepared with less oil, parathas are very nutritious and an ideal breakfast item. The stuffing can be anything ranging from potatoes, raddish, cauliflower, sprouted green gram moong , paneer prepared from skimmed milk and so on. Corn/Rice/Wheat flakes Corn flakes are very popular breakfast item. Now a days you have variety of them availble in the market which is fortified with calcium/Iron or Vitamins. It is very nutritious when taken with skimmed milk and fresh fruits.