Journeyman

OK, I have to admit that I hardly ever eat breakfast. So this article got my attention, maybe some of the posters here will benefit from reading it also.

jman



Breakfast of (Heart) Champions
Why a healthy first meal is vital for your ticker
By Lorie Parch
Special to MSN

Given our druthers, many of us would start the day with breakfast a la Homer Simpson: a couple of doughnuts and coffee. Alas, such a meal does your heart no favors. In fact, the saturated fat, calories, sugar and lack of nutrients would be downright dangerous if you ate that every day. The good news, though, is that by having a healthful breakfast every morning, you can go a long way toward keeping your ticker strong. "You start with the good building blocks of breakfast and then transcend it into the other meals of the day," says Dr. Nieca Goldberg, chief of women's cardiac care at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and the author of Women Are Not Small Men: Life-Saving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease in Women (Ballantine, 2002).
So what are the building blocks for a heart-healthy breakfast? You should aim for three elements, says Cindy Moore, director of nutrition therapy at The Cleveland Clinic and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. "You want a combination of a fiber source — probably a whole grain of some kind like bread or cereal; a piece of whole fruit; and some sort of protein source, whether dairy or eggs/egg substitutes or fish or lean poultry. The optimal breakfast has those three."
Bulking up
Fiber is especially important to lowering the risk for heart disease, since it offers a double benefit: "Many fiber sources contain B vitamins — folic acid (folate), vitamins B6 and B12 — which help in reducing homocysteine levels," explains Moore. When homocysteine, an amino acid, doesn't get broken down normally in the body, there's more of it around. More homocysteine usually means more plaque, which can increase the risk for vascular and heart problems, Goldberg says. A study published in the Jan. 19 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that women ages 27-44 who got at least 1,000 micrograms of folate daily (through diet and supplements) had a 46 percent reduced risk of high blood pressure than those who got less than 200 micrograms a day. What's more, when you get lots of fiber
also reduce cholesterol levels.

Since fortified cereals and breads contain more fiber than is easy to get in most foods, breakfast is the perfect opportunity to bulk up to reach the 3-plus ounces (85-plus grams) of whole grains the new federal dietary guidelines say we should try to get daily: Aim for 4-5 grams of fiber per serving, advises Moore, though many of the higher-fiber cereals will contain a lot more than that. "You could have oatmeal, whole-grain toast or a bagel or English muffin, or even a whole-wheat pita filled with hummus — the chickpeas have fiber too — and matchstick carrots and broccoli." Fruits and vegetables also have lots of fiber and the new guidelines recommend eating two cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables per day (for a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet). Whatever high-fiber foods you choose, you'll be doing your body good. A study of thousands of male health-care professionals over 14 years, published in the December 2004 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that those who ate the most whole grains had the lowest incidence of coronary heart disease — something other studies corroborate. But the study also noted that the bran in the cereals seemed to be the most important dietary factor in keeping the men's hearts healthy: Those who got 11 grams of bran daily reduced their heart disease risk by a very impressive 30 percent. .
But it's not just the fiber that's responsible for those health benefits: Cereal, fruits and vegetables are full of heart-protective antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and E. Says Goldberg: "The heart [benefit of] antioxidants [in studies] was found from food, not supplements. People were eating it in their diet. If you add fresh fruit — blueberries, raspberries, strawberries — they all have antioxidants, and blueberries are one of the highest sources."
What to skip
Skipping breakfast can be just as bad as the doughnuts-and-java start to the day. By passing up your first meal, not only are you missing an opportunity to get in more fiber and heart-healthy sources of protein, calcium and other nutrients, but you also may be increasing your odds for gaining weight. "Some studies have shown — though this isn't conclusive — that people who eat on a more frequent basis are not only at a little more healthful weight, but they have lower cholesterol levels," says Moore.
If you're adding breakfast to your daily lineup, be sure to skip processed foods like energy bars, ready-to-go meals, frozen foods and the like. "Oftentimes these products contain trans fatty acids. If you look on the ingredients list and see 'partially hydrogenated oil,' that's a tip-off that it has trans fatty acids," explains Moore. "These fats act similarly to saturated fat, in that they raised the LDL (the bad cholesterol) and lower HDL (the good cholesterol)." In 2006, new regulations will require all food labels to show the amount of trans fatty acids in a food, but until then you'll need to look out for the word "hydrogenated" on the ingredient list. Also be wary of full-fat animal products — pork bacon, sausage, cheeses — at breakfast, as these are typically high in heart-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol, not to mention calories.
Here are some suggestions for a heart-healthy and delicious start to the day, courtesy of nutritionist Cindy Moore:
Egg sandwich
Two slices whole-grain toast (or whole-grain English muffin or bagel)
1 egg (fried using nonstick pan spray)
1/2 to 3/4 ounce (or 1 pre-packaged slice) reduced-fat Swiss or cheddar cheese
1 tomato slice
1-2 slices reduced-fat turkey bacon (microwaved)
Pancakes and waffles
Use these substitutions for your favorite recipe. You can leave out the oil entirely, says Moore, and it won't affect the flavor.
Substitute whole-wheat flour (for all-purpose flour) for half the flour called for
1 Tb sugar (or sucralose/Splenda)
Dash of salt
Substitute skim milk (for whole, 1, or 2 percent milk)
Substitute egg substitute (for whole egg)
To add flavor and fiber to pancakes, drop blueberries, strawberries or raspberries into the batter. For waffles, make a quick fruit sauce instead of using syrup: Add a little water to frozen berries (1/4-½ cup for a whole package of berries) to soften them. When the berries are the right texture, add 1 Tb of sugar or so and mix in. Pour sauce on waffles, pancakes or French toast.
Egg strata
Combine egg substitute or a combination of egg substitute and whole eggs (about 4 eggs' worth) and about 1 cup fat-free milk. Remove the crusts from 4-6 slices of whole-grain bread and cube the bread into about ½-inch square cubes. Pour egg and milk mixture over cubed bread and let it sit for about 5 minutes so milk gets absorbed (bread should be moist; you can add more milk if desired). If you have some grilled onions or peppers or other cooked veggies, you can mix these in with the bread mixture and sprinkle with black pepper. Pour mixture into a casserole dish. Put low-fat cheese slice on top and spread a bit of margarine mixed with unseasoned bread crumbs (made with whole-grain bread, if possible) on top. Microwave 1-2 slices of reduced-fat turkey bacon, chop it up and sprinkle on top of dish. Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Lorie Parch is a health writer specializing in health, nutrition and fitness and former executive editor at Shape magazine.

Machka 

Skipping breakfast can be just as bad as the doughnuts-and-java start to the day. By passing up your first meal, not only are you missing an opportunity to get in more fiber and heart-healthy sources of protein, calcium and other nutrients, but you also may be increasing your odds for gaining weight. "Some studies have shown — though this isn't conclusive — that people who eat on a more frequent basis are not only at a little more healthful weight, but they have lower cholesterol levels," says Moore.


I skip breakfast. AND I am a very healthy weight and have been for about 10 years now. I also just went for a whole series of tests (blood work, heart, etc.) and the results came back great. In fact, my Dr. said she had never seen results from anyone looking so good before.

I've also discovered something about myself. If I eat before about 10 am (except when I've got a cycling event - I have to eat before I ride), I'm hungry for the rest of the day. But if I wait and don't eat until after 10 am, or even till lunch, I'm not very hungry for the rest of the day. It's like eating before 10 am wakes my stomach up.

Metro1

Thank you for posting the info Journeyman. Very helpful suggestions.

JBBOOKS

Brought to you by the people who, just a few years ago, told us all that eating eggs was killing us. Oh yeah, then there was the food pyramid, then the low fat/high carb diet, then high fructose corn syrup then .....

Pardon me if I pay no heed to any new revelations on human nutrition.

RedHairedScot

I've always thought I was weird, but I do the same thing. If I eat early in the morning (8am) then I'm craving food all day. Anybody know why?

alison_in_oh

Because Breaking your overnight Fast is a jump-start to your metabolism. Everything goes into fuel-burning instead of fuel-conserving mode. So your body asks for more fuel if you're more active.

I've found that the best way to curb my cravings is to stave them off. I eat a sturdy well-rounded breakfast (Kashi Go Lean in yogurt for about 270 cals, or two scrambled eggs in a tortilla for a breakfast burrito at ~320 cals) before 8. I let myself give in to the munchies with a piece of fruit or some balanced fat/protein/carbo anytime after 10:30. I make sure to get enough of a lunch at noon to carry me through the afternoon, but if I've got the munchies after 2 I again go for a snack (nuts or a Clif bar) that easily tides me over to my evening workout. Afterward, a healthy dinner with plenty of fat, protein, and carbo to regenerate my body overnight. My calories consumed reflect what I see in my body: I'm getting enough food, but not too much and my weight is stable. I tend to awake hungry and ready for my brekky, which is one way I gauge if I got the right amount of calories the day before!

Roody

Usually if I am not hungry for breakfast, it's because I ate too much the night before.

MetalHead90

Pff...I laugh at people and their little diets (no offense to anybody though) I don't eat breakfast and I weigh 165 pounds and I am only 14, and its not fat its pure muscle. I call this the Chris Diet

Step 1: Skip breakfast
Step 2: Strain you brain VERY hard for six hours (like I try to at school)
Step 3: Eat something you like for lunch..anything you want, you've earned it
Step 4: Go home and drink some nice cold water
Step 5: Get on a BMX and ride that for 3 hours
Step 6: Reapeat for several weeks until results show
Now THATS one helluva diet my freinds. Enjoy!

KirkeIsWaiting

You are indeed 14.

Roody

MH90--Do you eat anything for dinner or a bedtime snack?

jedi_rider

Eat when you're hungry. Eat when it makes sense. Eat healthy.

That's all folks.

kingkelly

I skip breakfast a lot because it makes me pukey in the morning. Especially if im going for a ride in the morn.

Maybe its because ill wake up and be out the door 10 minutes later, and forcing myself to eat something after being awake for 5 minutes just aint smart.

Its kinda a double edged sword, because if i dont eat anything, and then commute to school, ill have no energy since i havent eaten anything all day. But then if i do eat in the morning, me stomach feels bad. meh?

cheebahmunkey

uh huh and what do you mean "anything you want, you've earned it"? Yeah go down a double bacon cheeseburger with large fries. You'll lose weight in no time!

Roody

Do you REALLY believe that it is this simple? Come on...

cheebahmunkey

well, it may not be this simple, but it can be close. Eating healthy and exercise usually mean maintaining weight, but that's for people who are of normal weight. For a lot of people, eating healthy is a change (from eating fast food for example) that coupled with exercise will induce weight loss.

jedi_rider

Actually, yes I do. Why wouldn't it be easy?

No sarcasm meant.

Unless you have a serious health problem or eating disorder, there is no reason this can happen. If you care for your body, that is.

This, combined, with regular exercise, is easy.

Too much hype on all the fad diets makes people insecure. I've seen lots of people who shouldn't go on diets...uh...go on diets.

The principle is easy...the execution is hard because many don't have strong will power.

Machka 

YES! Definitely!! That's how I do it!! And see my post above for how healthy I've been deemed by the medical profession.

It really isn't all that complicated.

Roody

What I mean is--if losing weight is so simple, why are millions of Americans obese--even after taking advantage of all the eating plans, exercize regimens and diets that are available. Over 80% of people who successfully lose weight quickly regain it. Many people struggle with obesity for their entire lives. You do them (us) a serious discredit when you say, "just eat right and exercize more." Obviously, there are complex biological, social and psychological issues related to obesity. You are offering simple and childish advice to millions who need serious help. Please take the time to think seriously about serious issues before you post simplistic, misguided "solutions."

cheebahmunkey

well, you're talking about the psychology of losing weight. We are referring to the physical aspect of losing weight. People regain the weight b/c they don't have the determination perhaps. Or maybe because they lose focus. Whatever the reason may be, the actualy physical aspect of losing weight is simply eat healthy and exercise.

ElPresidente408

My morning breakfast is usually:

- One of those instant breakfast powders
- Nutri-grain bar
- Serving of fruit
- Multi vitamin

Sometimes I'll skip the grain bar.

jedi_rider

People regain weight after a diet plan mostly because they haven't integrated that diet plan as a part of their lifestyle. That, combined with an active lifestyle, is a good recipe to keep optimal body weight.

My thoughts, anyways...

Patriot

My breakfast consists of coffee, lots of coffe until I am awake enough to chew my food.

Roody

Actually, for most people obesity is a biological issue, and only secondarily a psychological issue. There is an enormous body of research that supports this, but not many people bother to look into it--or even think about it--before they spout off.

Obese people do not lack will power! I know fat people who have been on liquid diets for months. That takes enormous will power and self-control! (I bet you couldn't do it!) And yet--they usually gain the weight back much more quickly than a thin person would. Why is this?

It is so shallow to claim that people are fat because they eat too much! DUH! It's like saying my bike broke down because I rode it too much. That is a true statement, but simplistic to the point of meaninglessness. You have to ask deeper questions to get meaningful answers. For example:

Why do obese people eat too much?
Why do they burn fewer calories when they do exercize?
Why do their bodies produce more adipose tissue than the bodies of skinny people?
Why are their metabolisms and body chemistries different?

One theory is that their bodies are very efficient conservers of energy. This was an enormous biological advantage when people periodically experienced periods of famine. It is an enormous disadvantage when large quantities of food are always available. Other theories are also being researched. LOOK IT UP!

Please put a little thought into this. Try to remember the logic classes and science classes you had in college. They were trying to teach you how to think!

ElPresidente408

I think that although many people do have biological reasons for their weight, most suffer from McDonald's syndrome. This family I know never eats at home. About 5-6 times a week they'll have dinner at a fast food place. Not even a resturant, but a fast food place. Needless to say, everyone in that family is suffering from weight problems.

jedi_rider

Do the people you know that have gone on liquid diets also implemented exercise in their plan to increase their metabolic rate? If they don't then they are just teaching their body to conserve energy, thereby, making it harder for them to burn calories.

Diet alone will not keep the weight down.

Consistent exercise...any...is the key partner to this.